CHICAGO (Feb. 1, 2025) — Senior forward
Filip Skobalj (Belgrade, Serbia/Don Bosco-Schule Rostock) and sophomore guard
Ahmad Henderson II (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice/Niagara) both scored a season-high 20 points, but UIC (14-8, 7-5 MVC) couldn't quite complete a second-half comeback, falling to Indiana State, 88-83 in Missouri Valley Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Credit Union 1 Arena. The Flames came nearly all the way back from 18 points down, getting a look at a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:28 that rattled out before the Sycamores (11-12, 5-7) made just enough foul shots to hold on for the win.
Graduate student guard
Tyem Freeman (Springfield, Mo./Hillcrest/UCF/Kent State) added 12 points, while redshirt sophomore forward
Modestas Kancleris (Kaunas, Lithuania/Varpas Gimnazija/Creighton/Cal State Bakersfield) delivered a balanced line with nine points and game highs of 10 rebounds, a career-high four steals and a career high-tying four blocks.
The full box score and play-by-play recap from Saturday's game can be found
here.
COACH'S COMMENTS
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
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BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Saturday's result was the 11th UIC game in 22 outings this year to be decided by single digits, including eight of 12 conference games. The Flames are 6-5 in single-digit games (4-4 in MVC play) this season.
- The last two matchups between UIC and Indiana State at Credit Union 1 Arena have been decided by single digits — last year, the Sycamores prevailed by a nearly identical score (89-83) to Saturday's result. The 83 points scored by UIC the last two years in Chicago are the most by the Flames in the series, which Indiana State now leads 6-1.
- UIC had a season-high 10 blocks on Saturday, its highest total since Nov. 7, 2022, when it also had 10 rejections in a win over Trinity Christian at Credit Union 1 Arena.
- The Flames topped the 80-point mark for the 12th time this season.
- This marked the second consecutive game in which the Flames had two 20-point scorers — interestingly, it was four different players who scored 20 points across the two games (Javon Jackson had 25 points and Jordan Mason added 22 points in Wednesday's win at Bradley).
- Skobalj and Henderson are the fifth and sixth different UIC players to score 20 points in a game this season — the others are Freeman (21 vs. Murray State on Jan. 15) and Joshua Reaves (21 vs. Saint Mary's-Minn. on Nov. 16).
- Skobalj's 20 points were one off his career high, set on Feb. 11, 2024, in a home win over Northern Iowa. His season high this year had been 19 points on Nov. 22 against La Salle at the Boardwalk Battle in Daytona Beach, Fla.
- Henderson's 20 points surpassed his previous season high of 18 points at Belmont on Jan. 4.
- Kancleris' previous career high for steals was three vs. South Dakota on Dec. 19, 2023, when he played at Cal State Bakersfield. He has had four blocks on two other occasions prior to Saturday, most recently on Nov. 23 against East Carolina at the Boardwalk Battle in Daytona Beach, Fla.
- Reaves appeared in his 99th career game on Saturday, putting him on the verge of becoming the fourth UIC player this year to play in 100 career games — the others are Koby Jeffries (118), Skobalj (114) and Freeman (106).
UP NEXT
UIC wraps up its mini two-game MVC homestand at 7 p.m. (CT) Wednesday, taking on Illinois State at Credit Union 1 Arena. Fans can purchase their tickets online through Ticketmaster andÂ
UICFlames.com/Tickets, as well as through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office (312-413-UIC1) or by visiting the Credit Union 1 Arena box office on game day. Doors open an hour before first tip. If you can't make it to Credit Union 1 Arena, ESPN+ will televise the game and you can hear the free live radio call on the Flames Network 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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