Flames ease past scrappy Raiders

(2/06/03)

UIC coach Jimmy Collins wasn’t fooled by Wright State’s mediocre record coming into Wednesday night’s contest at the Pavilion.

In fact, for about 35 minutes, the Raiders were as good as the Flames. However, UIC broke open a tight game with an 18-4 run to end the game as the Flames recorded a 77-62 Horizon League victory.

“[Wright State has] a good basketball team,” Collins said. “We knew we wouldn’t look past them. I addressed my players about it and they answered the call.”

The victory puts the Flames (15-5, 9-2) at 10 games over .500 for the first time since 1997-98, while Wright State slips to 8-12, 2-8.

The Raiders pulled to within 59-58 with 4:53 left on Seth Doliboa’s dunk, but UIC answered with seven consecutive points.

After Wright State’s Braden Bushman split a pair of free throws, the Flames’ Armond Williams (pictured) made two dynamite plays—one on each of the end of the floor—to effectively slam the door. Williams scored on a reverse layup on a nifty feed from Jonathan Schneiderman with 1:58 left to put UIC ahead 68-59, then recorded an emphatic block just seconds later on the other end.

“Armond’s block really helped us momentum-wise,” Collins said.

Cedrick Banks scored 23 points on 8-of-16 from the field and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line to lead the Flames. Williams notched his seventh double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He also had four assists and three steals.

Schneiderman contributed 10 points off the bench for UIC, while Martell Bailey added nine points and eight assists.

Wright State’s Doliboa led all scorers with 26 points, but shot just 8-of-24 from the field. Trent Vaughn was the Raiders’ other double-digit scorer with 11 points off the bench.

The Raiders took advantage of UIC’s slow start, jumping out to 10-point leads on two occasions—the last with 6:37 left in the first half at 24-14 on Vaughn’s three-pointer.

“I thought defensively we did some good things to create some stops,” Wright State coach Ed Schilling said. “We were able to capitalize on some set plays early.”

UIC responded with a 16-3 run, including six points from Banks, to go up 30-27 with 2:23 left in the half. The Flames led 34-31 at the break.

The Flames took the lead for good (at 48-47) on two Williams free throws with 11:07 left in the game.

“We came out a little too relaxed, knowing we beat [Wright State] at their place,” Banks said. “They came out with intensity, but in the second half, we played better team ball.”

UIC’s defense helped finish the Raiders, holding them to just 35 percent shooting for the game and 28 percent in the second half.

“The team concept offensively and our defense helped us get this win,” Collins said.

SCOTT LOOKING BETTER: Junior forward Joe Scott played more aggressively and Collins rewarded him with increased playing time. Scott played 25 minutes against Wright State, while scoring only four points, but he had five rebounds, three blocked shots and a lunging steal at halfcourt to set up a fastbreak opportunity.

“Joe has picked up his game lately,” Collins said. “Joe is still hampered by the thought of that leg injury. The last three games, he’s been more aggressive, calling for the ball more and being a lot more alert. We definitely need Joe to make a run for our conference championship. Joe is the piece of our puzzle that we really need to help us go.”

Another Flames' big man, Jabari Harris, also played well Wednesday night. Harris matched a season-high with six points and grabbed three offensive rebounds.

UP NEXT: The Flames travel to Butler for a first-place showdown in the Horizon League Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The game tips off a 5 p.m. on Fox Sports Net and ESPN Radio 1000.