CHICAGO — Freshman guard Andy Johnson scored a game-high (and season-best) 16 points and knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:28 remaining as UIC grinded out a tough 67-63 road win at Chicago State on Saturday afternoon in the inaugural Chicago Crosstown Challenge at the Jones Convocation Center on Chicago's South Side. Junior guard Ahmad Henderson II and freshman guard Rashund Washington Jr. both added 10 points for the Flames (3-1), with Washington grabbing a game-high (and season-best) seven rebounds and Henderson dishing out a game-best four assists.
In its first visit to Chicago State in over a quarter century, UIC turned in a performance that personified Chicago — gritty, not always pretty, but effective nonetheless. The matchup featured 12 ties and 10 lead changes before Johnson's second triple of the afternoon put the visitors ahead for good. Redshirt freshman forward Jayce Nathaniel added a key layup with 46.5 seconds left (he finished 4-of-4 from the field and had eight points) and Henderson then converted 3-of-4 free throws in the final half-minute to secure the hard-fought victory. Â
The full box score and play-by-play recap from Saturday's win at Chicago State can be found here.
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SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
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BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- UIC athletics teams are now 9-0-2 this year against fellow Chicagoland schools (3-0 volleyball; 3-0-1 men's soccer; 2-0 men's basketball; 1-0-1 women's soccer), the best intracity record in 2025-26 by any of Chicago's NCAA Division I schools.
- The Flames have now won their last three meetings with Chicago State (and four of the past five), with Saturday marking the first matchup between the schools since Nov. 30, 2016 (a 74-58 UIC win at Credit Union 1 Arena).
- UIC picks up its first road win at Chicago State since Nov. 25, 1995 (a 96-79 final). The Flames were playing their first road game at CSU since Dec. 7, 1999 (a 69-61 Cougars' victory).
- Johnson has scored in double figures in all four games, with Saturday's 16 points matching his season/career high set back on Tuesday at home in a victory over St. Francis (Ill.).
- Johnson also grabbed a season-high five rebounds on Saturday (he previously had three boards against both St. Francis, and on Nov. 7 at Oregon State).
- Washington posted the second double-digit scoring game of his young career, having dropped in a season-high 13 points in the Nov. 3 opening-night win over Detroit Mercy.
- Washington's previous season rebounding high was six boards, also on Nov. 3 vs. Detroit Mercy.
- Dating back to the final game of last season, Henderson had a streak of 21 consecutive made free throws (including his first eight on Saturday) before missing his last foul shot in the closing seconds.Â
- Graduate student forward Abdul Momoh appeared in his 100th career game on Saturday. Coincidentally, Momoh's career scoring high (19 points) came on his previous visit to Chicago State on Feb. 20, 2025, while he was playing for Central Connecticut State.
- Saturday's win was No. 949 in the 79 seasons of UICÂ men's basketball.
UP NEXT: HIGH POINT (BOARDWALK BATTLE)
UIC will be back in action Nov. 20 and 22, competing for the second consecutive year at the Boardwalk Battle in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Flames will face High Point in the tournament opener on Nov. 20 (1:30 p.m. CT) and will face either Incarnate Word or Southern Indiana on Nov. 22 in the championship game (6 p.m. CT) or consolation game (4 p.m. CT). Both of UIC's tournament games will be streamed on the BallerTV subscription service, with live stats available at UICFlames.com.
FOLLOW THE FLAMES
For more information on UIC men's basketball, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_MBB and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_mbb and @uicflames).
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