Skip To Main Content

UIC Athletics

thevalley
Bench_MOST_02.16.25
Chris Kohley
58
Missouri St. MOST 9-18,2-14 MVC
63
Winner UIC UIC 15-11,8-8 MVC
Missouri St. MOST
9-18,2-14 MVC
58
Final
63
UIC UIC
15-11,8-8 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Missouri St. MOST 30 28 58
UIC UIC 35 28 63

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball Battles To Gritty 63-58 Win Over Missouri State

Flames have their highest win total (15) since the 2019-20 season while squaring their MVC record at 8-8.

CHICAGO (Feb. 16, 2025) — Junior guard Javon Jackson (Houston, Texas/C.E. King/Southern Nazarene/Utah State) dropped in a team-high 16 points to pace three UIC players in double figures as the Flames (15-11, 8-8 MVC) returned to the win column Sunday afternoon with a hard-fought 63-58 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Missouri State (9-18, 2-14) at Credit Union 1 Arena. With the win, UIC has its highest season victory total since the 2019-20 season and evens its conference record at 8-8 this year.

Redshirt senior forward Modestas Kancleris (Kaunas, Lithuania/Varpas Gimnazija/Creighton/Cal State Bakersfield) came off the bench to collect 13 points, a game-high eight rebounds and three blocks, while sophomore forward Sasa Ciani (Nova Gorica, Slovenia/Koder School/Xavier) added 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Kancleris converted two free throws with 1:47 left that put the Flames ahead to stay, and graduate student guard Tyem Freeman (Springfield, Mo./Hillcrest/UCF/Kent State) followed with several critical plays in the final minute to seal the win — an offensive rebound and putback with :56 left to make it a 59-56 game, followed by a defensive rebound off the Bears' missed game-tying three-point attempt in the final seconds and then two clinching free throws when he was fouled on the rebounding action.

The full box score and play-by-play recap from Sunday's win over Missouri State can be found here.


COACH'S COMMENTS



SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

  • At 15-11, UIC has its highest win total since the 2019-20 season, when the Flames went 18-17.
  • UIC's eight conference wins are its highest total since 2021-22 (its final year in the Horizon League), when the Flames went 9-10 in conference play.
  • UIC sweeps the regular season series with Missouri State, the first time ever the Flames have won back-to-back games against the Bears. It was also UIC's first win over Missouri State in Chicago since Jan. 13, 1990 (a 66-61 decision).
  • This marked the seventh time in the past 11 games between UIC and Missouri State (and 13th time in 23 series games between the schools) that the margin has been 10 points or fewer.
  • Exactly half (13) of UIC's 26 games this year, including 10 of 16 MVC games, have been decided by single digits (7-6 overall, 5-5 in the Valley in those games).
  • UIC held Missouri State to just 58 points, the fewest by a conference opponent this year (Bradley had scored 61 points on Jan. 11 at Credit Union 1 Arena). Overall, it was the second-fewest points allowed by the Flames this season, trailing only the season-opening 91-43 win over St. Francis (Ill.), also in Chicago.
  • UIC turned its best three-point defensive effort of the season, limiting Missouri State to 1-of-11 (.091) from beyond the arc. Three times this year, the Flames had held an opponent to just four treys (the prior season low), while the previous lowest opponent three-point percentage was .200 by Evansville on Jan. 22.
  • With Sunday's team-high scoring output, Jackson is now 42 points away from 1,000 for his career.
  • UIC improves to 8-1 this season when leading at halftime, and 9-2 when holding its opponents to fewer than 70 points.

UP NEXT
UIC makes the first of two midweek trips to the state of Iowa in the final two weeks of the regular season when it travels to Des Moines on Wednesday for a 6:30 p.m. (CT) MVC matchup at Drake. The game will be televised live as part of The Valley on ESPN package (also available on ESPN+), while there will not be a Flames Network radio broadcast at UICFlames.com due to scheduling conflicts. The Flames then return home next Saturday, Feb. 22 for a 2 p.m. (CT) matinee against Evansville at Credit Union 1 Arena. Fans can purchase their tickets online through Ticketmaster and 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.

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).
 
Print Friendly Version