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Cotton’s shooting Flame retardant BETTER EFFORT FOR UIC NOT ENOUGH January 29, 2009
Phoenix guard Troy Cotton scored 25 points, including 20 in the second half, as he rained in seven three-pointers in Green Bay’s 83-72 victory over the Flames at the Resch Center. UIC (10-10, 3-7 Horizon League) led by as much as seven in the first half and held a 37-36 advantage at the break, but the Phoenix rose from the ashes behind Cotton’s soft touch from the perimeter. Cotton scored 14 points, including four threes, in a 20-8 surge to start the second half to give Green Bay (16-6, 8-2) a 56-45 lead. The Flames were unable to get closer than eight points the rest of the way. “I was just trying to hunt down my shots and be aggressive,” Cotton said. “It’s a team deal. They were really setting picks for me and I was just trying to knock down shots for them.” Cotton did it all for the Phoenix, adding a team-high with seven rebounds to go with four assists and three steals. Senior forward Ryan Tillema contributed 18 points off the bench for Green Bay. For the game, the Phoenix shot 13-for-29 from three-point range for 45 percent, including 9-for-14 (64 percent) in the second half to pull away. “They’re awfully doggone good,” UIC coach Jimmy Collins said. “When a team shoots 50 percent in the second half and 64 percent from three, there ain’t a whole lot of answers for that.” Robo Kreps scored a team-high 17 points, including five three-pointers, for UIC. The Flames also got boosts from three returning players. Junior forward Jeremy Buttell had seven points and nine rebounds after missing four games with a right ankle sprain. Junior guard Kris Harris scored a career-high 12 points off the bench after missing four games due to problems with registration for the spring semester. Junior forward Jovan Ignjatovic chipped in with five points, including his first three-point field goal of the season. Senior guard Josh Mayo continued his struggles for the Flames, shooting just 3-for-12 from the field and scoring 11 points. However, Mayo was seen limping at various points of the game. “[Mayo’s] pretty banged up. He’s been banged up for about three weeks now,” Collins revealed after the game. “He’s trying. He’s one of the guys that everyone looks to. As long as he continues to try, we can convince the other guys to keep trying. It’s hard for him to push off on his left leg.” Mayo hit a three-pointer midway through the second half that pulled UIC to within 62-54, but Cotton drilled two more triples to extend Green Bay’s advantage to 70-58. The first half was a thrilling back-and-forth battle as it featured eight lead changes, seven ties and only nine turnovers. Kreps started and ended a 12-2 run with a pair of threes as the Flames grabbed a 26-19 lead. Harris also had a strong first half with seven points. Tillema hit a three-pointer in the final seconds of the opening half to slice UIC’s lead to one at intermission. The Flames surpassed their point total of 31 from their previous game with more than 2 minutes left in the first half when Buttell’s three gave UIC a 32-31 lead. Collins was pleased with his team’s effort, if not the result. “Our guys tried hard, and that's all we can ask for,” Collins said. “We had the energy. We have to take the positives from this and move forward.” FLAMES FLICKERS: Point guard Spencer Stewart remains out with an injured right foot. … Freshman forward Jelani Poston did not play. … Scott VanderMeer had 11 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes and missed a good chunk of the second half with foul trouble. … Green Bay out-rebounded UIC 36-32. … The Flames registered single-digit assists for the third consecutive game. UP NEXT: UIC concludes with four-game road trip with a game at Milwaukee on Saturday night. The Panthers defeated the Flames 71-66 at the UIC Pavilion on Dec. 30 and now sits at 13-8 overall and 8-3 in the conference after a 72-58 victory over Loyola on Wednesday night. Milwaukee, which is 9-2 at home, is led by Tone Boyle’s 14.8 points per game and Avery Smith’s 12.5 points per contest. The game tips off at 7 p.m. on Saturday with video coverage on the Horizon League Network. Audio coverage with the Flames’ voices, Adam Levinson and Kenny Williams, can be heard on WIND-AM 560. |
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