Flames can’t hold lead after good start

VALPO OVERCOMES 10-POINT DEFICIT AT HALF

February 16, 2012

Whoosh! photo Flame of the Game Sophomore forward Hayden Humes continued his aggressive upswing with 15 points in his return to his hometown. He was 5-for-9 from the field and 2-for-4 from 3-point range in helping the Flames build a 10-point halftime lead. He was also 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.

After a lackluster effort in a loss at Loyola on Saturday, UIC came out fired up against first-place Valparaiso on Tuesday night, grabbing a 10-point lead at the half.

However, the Crusaders rallied back behind some incredible shooting accuracy in the second half to overcome the Flames 74-65 at the ARC in Valparaiso, Ind.

Richie Edwards scored 19 points, Matt Kenney added 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists off the bench and Kevin Van Wijk chipped in 11 points for the Crusaders (19-9, 12-4 Horizon League), who shot 72 percent after halftime to rally from down as many as 11 points early in the second half.

Hayden Humes, who went to high school in Valparaiso, scored 15 points to tie for team-high honors with Gary Talton for the Flames (7-18, 3-12). Senior center Darrin Williams scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds coming off the bench.

Daniel Barnes scored all of seven of his points as UIC opened a 14-10 lead in the first 6 minutes. Williams scored on back-to-back layups to give the Flames an 18-13 advantage.

Valpo tied the game at 23-23 on a 3-pointer by Will Bogan, but UIC finished the half strong with a 14-4 run over the final 7:49 of the opening period.

Senior forward Dorian Tyler dunked the ball to start the run while Talton and Humes nailed 3-pointers in the final 2 minutes as the Flames stretched the lead to 37-27 at the break. UIC shot 52 percent from the field (50 percent from 3-point land) in the half.

“I was really proud of how my team showed up in the first half tonight,” UIC coach Howard Moore said. “To come into an environment like this where Valpo has so much on the line; they are playing for a conference championship, really showed a lot out of our guys.”

Talton hit a free throw to give UIC a 38-27 just over a minute into the second period before the Crusaders started getting hot, especially from the perimeter.

“UIC is a much improved team, something which I don’t think is reflected in their record,” Valpo coach Bryce Drew said. “They came out, played extremely hard and extremely physical, and executed very well, especially in the first half.”

Ryan Broekhoff and Ben Boggs each nailed a 3-pointer to quickly trim Valpo’s deficit to six, but Humes converted all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt to push the Flames’ lead back to 43-34.

The Crusaders crawled back into it using sharp marksmanship from the outside while also getting the Flames into some foul trouble.

Jay Harris capped a 10-2 run with a 3-pointer with 11:03 left to give the Crusaders their first lead of the game at 48-47.

The Flames wouldn’t quit as Talton nailed a 3-pointer with 8:21 remaining to give UIC a 53-51 edge, but Kenney hit a pair of treys for Valpo during another 10-2 run that gave the Crusaders a 61-55 lead with 5:17 to play.

UIC pulled to within four points in the final minutes on a few occasions with the last coming on two Greg Travis’ free throws with 36 seconds left, but the Flames could get no closer.

Valpo shot 8-for-9 (89 percent) from 3-point range and made 13-for-19 (68 percent) from the free-throw line in the second half.

“I thought they (Valparaiso) really showed a lot of poise in the second half,” Moore said. “They made a lot of big shots, and got stops the way they needed to. They took control of the game and showed why they are at the top of our league.”

Whoosh! photo Talton

FLAMES FLICKERS: Freshman forward Marc Brown banged knees with a Valpo player with 5:13 left and did not return. Talton injured his ankle with 47.6 seconds left in the game. UIC spokesman Brett McWethy said both players would be fine. ... Travis, who sat out five of the last six games, which included a 3-game suspension due to a violation of team rules, had six points and two assists in 25 minutes as Moore altered his rotation. ... Senior forward Paris Carter got the start ahead of Williams. ... The Flames lost their 26th straight road game overall and 26th consecutive Horizon League road contest. ... UIC shot 45 percent from the field and had 17 assists to just 11 turnovers. However, Valpo shot 61 percent from the field, 63 percent from 3-point range and 19 assists to 11 turnovers. ... The Flames held a 29-20 advantage on the boards, including 11-2 on the offensive end.