Kreps, Mayo clutch down the stretch

GUARDS COMBINE FOR 50 POINTS AT VALPO

February 16, 2009

Whoosh! photo Robo Kreps scored 11 points in the final 5:09 and hit six three-pointers in the Flames’ road victory at Valparaiso.

Robo Kreps and Josh Mayo teamed up for 50 points and spearheaded a closing burst that helped push UIC past host Valparaiso 83-76 at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

The Flames (12-14, 5-11 Horizon League) went on a 19-6 run to close out the victory, which included the final 10 points.

Kreps, who scored 11 of his career-high 25 points in the final 5:09, banked in an off-balance three-pointer with the shot clock running down to tie the game at 76-76 with 2:01 remaining.

“That was really the key play when Kreps banked it in,” Valparaiso coach Homer Drew said. “We played very good defense the entire possession, and he just made a really difficult shot.”

After Erik Buggs missed a three for the Crusaders (7-19, 4-11), Kreps hit two free throws with 1:26 to play to give UIC a 78-76 lead. Mayo, who also had 25 points, then hit free throws after a Valpo turnover with 46 seconds to go for a four-point lead.

Associate head coach Mark Coomes, who was guiding the Flames for the second straight game as head coach Jimmy Collins was attending funeral services for his mother, knew his team had to tighten up its play down the stretch.

“We had to show composure,” Coomes said. “We moved the ball. We held them to one shot per possession and we did an excellent job of playing defense.”

UIC looked fluid on offense for the majority of the game and jumped out to a 38-30 lead in the first half. However, Valpo made a run just before halftime, outscoring the Flames 13-2—a spurt that included two threes from Howard Little—for a 43-40 lead at the break.

The Crusaders threatened to blow the game open early in the second half, scoring the first seven points of the period, capped by Little’s steal and dunk for a 49-40 lead with 18:43 left.

UIC slowly crawled back into the game as Mayo and Rob Eppinger each converted three-point plays to cut the Valpo lead to 55-54 with 13:35 remaining.

After the Crusaders built their lead back to four, Kreps hit a three-pointer with 8:50 left to cut the score to 63-62. Michael Rogers scored five straight points to get Valpo’s lead back to six.

Mayo hit a floater to start a 9-2 burst that was capped by Kreps’ three with 5:09 left, giving UIC its first lead of the second half at 71-70. Back-to-back threes by Jake Diebler sandwiched a layup by Kreps, setting the stage for the late heroics.

UIC shot 53 percent from the field and 63 percent from three-point range. Kreps was 6-for-7 from beyond the arc.

Mayo also hit three three-pointers and Tori Boyd added 14 points and nine rebounds.

“We did not do a good job on team defense,” Drew said. “You have to compliment UIC as well, as they hit a lot of shots and gave us no margin for error on our offensive possessions.”

Urule Igbavboa scored 20 points to lead Valpo, who also got 19 points from Rogers and 18 from Diebler.

After shooting 59 percent in the opening half, the Crusaders’ shooting dropped to 39 percent in the second half.

“It was real credit to the players,” Coomes said. “They did a really good job of getting ready for this game. We came out focused in practice and have made a nice jump in the last 4-5 days.”

UP NEXT: UIC returns to the Pavilion for its final two home games of the season, starting Wednesday night against Wright State. The Raiders are 16-10 overall and 10-5 in the Horizon League. WSU is 9-3 since the start of 2009. Junior guard Todd Brown averages 10.7 points per game and junior forward Cory Cooperwood averages 9.6 points and 5.3 rebounds. The game tips off at 7 p.m. with coverage on the Horizon League Network. Audio coverage with the Flames’ voices, Adam Levinson and Kenny Williams, can be heard on uicflames.com.