CHICAGO — It was a truly balanced attack for UIC on Monday, as the Flames saw seven players score at least seven points, including four reaching double figures, in an 82-72 win over UNC Greensboro at Credit Union 1 Arena. With the victory, the Flames are 3-0 to start a season for the second time in the past 25 years and first since the abbreviated 2020-21 COVID season.
Sophomore guard Rashund Washington Jr. paced UIC with a game-high 17 points, while redshirt junior guard Gabe Cupps tossed in a career-high 14 points and graduate student guard Benny Gealer also scored 14 points. Redshirt junior forward Lucas Scroggins added 11 points (one off his career high) and senior guard Mekhi Lowery stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of seven points and game highs of nine rebounds, seven assists (tying his career best) and three blocks.
UIC found itself challenged in the early going, as UNCG (1-2) made seven of its first eight shots and eventually moved out to a 24-13 lead. However, the Flames responded well, ending the half on a 20-8 run to take a one-point lead to the locker room. UIC then started the second half on an 18-5 spurt and opened up a lead as large as 20 points (65-45) with under nine minutes to play. The Spartans made a final push and briefly cut the margin to single digits (73-64) just before the last media timeout, but Washington converted a layup and Cupps added a steal and breakaway layup on the ensuing possession and the margin was back in double digits the rest of the way.
The full box score and play-by-play recap from Monday's win over UNC Greensboro can be found here.
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- UIC is 3-0 to start a season for the 10th time in the program's 80-year history and the fourth time in its 46-year NCAA Division I era (the others were 1997-98, 2001-02 and 2020-21).
- This marked the second game in a row UIC used a massive mid-game run to take control (38-13 tonight; 27-4 last Friday against Robert Morris).
- UIC had a season-low five turnovers, the fewest for the Flames since last spring's Arch Madness title game (5 in a loss to UNI in St. Louis).
- Cupps' previous career scoring high was 12 points in the Nov. 2 season-opening win over St. Francis at Credit Union 1 Arena.
- UIC squares its all-time series record with UNC Greensboro at 1-1 in the teams' first-ever matchup on campus (the prior meeting was a 58-57 Spartans' win in Nov. 2023 at the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship in the Bahamas).
UP NEXT: SAINT MARY'S
UIC heads out on the road for the first time this season when the Flames travel to the West Coast Friday for a 9 p.m. CT matchup at four-time West Coast Conference champion Saint Mary's. The game will be televised live on ESPN+ from University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, Calif. The Flames and Gaels will be squaring off for the first time since the 1980-81 season and meeting at SMC for the first time ever. UIC is also playing its second consecutive road game in northern California, having traveled to Berkeley last March for its NIT opener at Cal.
FOLLOW THE FLAMES
Fans can purchase UIC basketball tickets (single-game or season packages) by going online through Ticketmaster or by contacting the UIC Athletics Ticket Office at (312) 413-UIC1 (8421) or athleticsticketing@uic.edu. Once again this season, all UIC students are admitted FREE to all home games with their student ID.
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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