ST. LOUIS — UIC freshman guard Rashund Washington Jr. scored a career-high 23 points to lead four Flames in double figures and grabbed six rebounds as fifth-seeded UIC advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament (aka "Arch Madness") championship game for the first time in program history with a 72-51 semifinal win over No. 9 seed Drake on Saturday afternoon at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. It will also be the Flames' first appearance in any conference tournament final since they finished as the 2020 Horizon League runner-up.
Junior guard/forward Mekhi Lowery recorded his third double-double of the season with 12 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, adding a game-best five assists for good measure. Sophomore guard Elijah Crawford also finished with 12 points, while junior guard Ahmad Henderson II again provided a second-half spark, scoring eight of his 10 points in the final 20 minutes.
UIC (19-14) did not trail after the opening 67 seconds of game action, opening up a 13-point first-half lead before Drake battled back to make it a 34-27 Flames lead at the half. The Bulldogs (14-20) got as close as 43-39 with 14:42 left and kept the margin within single digits at 53-46 just past the midway juncture of the second half. However, UIC closed the game on a 19-5 run (the exact same run the Flames made to finish their Feb. 12 road win at Drake), limiting the Bulldogs to two baskets over the final 13 minutes of the contest.
The full box score and play-by-play recap from Saturday's win over Drake can be found here.
COACH'S COMMENTS
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- UIC moves on to the MVC Tournament championship game for the first time in program history, as well as the title contest in any conference tournament for the first time since March 10, 2020, when the Flames made it to the Horizon League Tournament final before falling to Northern Kentucky, 71-62 in Indianapolis.
- This will be UIC's ninth appearance in a conference tournament championship game, following four title game berths each in the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (AMCU)/Mid-Continent Conference/Summit League (1989, 1992, 1993, 1994) and the Horizon League (1997, 2002, 2004, 2020). The Flames will be seeking their third conference tournament crown and first since 2004 (Horizon League), as well as a fourth NCAA Tournament berth (1998 - at-large; 2002, 2004).
- UIC's current run of 14 wins in 18 games is its best since the 2017-18 season, when it had a similar 13-4 stretch from Dec. 15, 2017-Feb. 19, 2018.
- UIC earned its 19th win of the season, its highest win total since the 2017-18 season (20-16, including a trip to the CIT championship game) and the second 19-win season in the past 22 years for the Flames (following their most recent conference tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance with a 24-8 record and Horizon League crown in 2003-04).
- UIC rises to 6-11 all-time against Drake (this was the first postseason and neutral-site meeting between the schools) and has won four of its last five games against the Bulldogs, including all three games this season. Prior to this year, the Flames had not won back-to-back games against Drake in series history, which began in 1978.
- The 51 points allowed by UIC are the fewest against Drake in the 17-game series history. The previous low came in the Bulldogs' 61-59 win over UIC on Nov. 9, 2013, in Chicago.
- Saturday's 21-point margin of victory was the largest for UIC in the Drake series, topping this year's 80-70 win at Drake on Feb. 12.
- Rashund Washington Jr. scored a career-high 23 points, eclipsing his previous high of 22 points at Murray State on Feb. 3.
- Mekhi Lowery posted his third double-double of the season (sixth of his career) with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. He also had double-doubles in both games at the Boardwalk Battle on Nov. 20 and 22 against High Point (15p/10r) and Southern Indiana (13p/10r).
- Lowery grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds (previous was 11 in a Feb. 24 home win over Bradley) and one off his career high of 13 rebounds at Nicholls on Nov. 20, 2024, when Lowery was playing for Towson.
- Andy Johnson tied his career high with seven rebounds, the fourth time this year he has reached that mark and first since a Feb. 18 win at Evansville.
- Ahmad Henderson II scored in double figures for a career-best (and team-leading) 25th time this season.
UP NEXT: NORTHERN IOWA (MVC TOURNAMENT/ARCH MADNESS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME)
UIC will take on sixth-seeded Northern Iowa in the MVC Tournament/Arch Madness championship game at 11 a.m. (CT) Sunday at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Sunday's title game will be televised live on CBS Sports (Channel 2 in Chicago) and it can also be heard live and free of charge globally on the Flames Network at UICFlames.com. Tickets in the UIC cheering section for Arch Madness are on sale through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office at (312) 413-UIC1 (8421) or athleticsticketing@uic.edu, as well as the Enterprise Center box office on game day.
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