Flames rally past Wright St. for ninth straight

BANKS LEADS COMEBACK AS UIC GETS BYE TO SEMIS

(2/27/04)

The UIC Flames took a major toward the NCAA tournament with the 75-71 come-from-behind victory over Wright State at the Pavilion Thursday night.

UIC (21-7, 11-4) clinched the No. 2 seed in next week’s Horizon League tournament, and with that, comes a bye in the semifinals, leaving the Flames two wins away from the conference’s automatic bid to the “Big Dance.”

The Flames were aided by Detroit’s 61-52 victory over Wisconsin-Green Bay.

“At halftime, I thought I heard that Detroit had won,” said UIC senior forward Aaron Carr, who finished with 12 points. “We still had to do what we needed to do in this game. Hopefully, now we can two in the tournament and make it to the NCAA.”

It certainly wasn’t easy for the senior-dominated Flames, who picked up their ninth consecutive victory. Wright State, with three freshmen in the starting line-up, led by nine points in the first half, but UIC rallied behind senior guard Cedrick Banks.

Banks (pictured above) nailed two consecutive three-pointers in the midst of a 12-0 run that put the Flames ahead 65-58 with 2:33 left.

Banks finished with 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting , including three three-pointers to lead the Flames. Armond Williams added 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

“Maturity won this game,” UIC coach Jimmy Collins said. “We have matured in a fine fashion. The guys hung together.”

Carr was 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, including 8-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final 43 seconds to stave off the Raiders (14-12, 10-5).

“He’s usually money from the line,” Collins said. “And Aaron’s a veteran and has been in the battles.”

Carr embraced the pressure situation.

“I want the ball in my hands at the end of the game,” he said.

Elliott Poole added a career-best 12 points to go with five rebounds and Martell Bailey added nine points – all in the first half – and 11 assists.

Wright State built a 58-53 lead after Drew Burleson nailed a 15-foot baseline jumper with 5:49 left before the Flames went on their game-clinching spurt.

Josip Petrusic and Williams each hit a pair of free-throws before Banks gave UIC the lead for good at 60-58 with a three-pointer from the right corner with 4:28 to play.

“When Banks hit those threes, it turned the momentum around,” Hollins said. “He can really get on a roll. He’s fast and his quick and moves so well without the basketball.”

Banks did not credit the comeback solely to sound offensive execution.

“It started with defense,” said Banks, who had four of his team’s 13 steals. “We started playing tremendous defense on their guys, and that pumped us up. When I was playing good defense, I felt more confident in my shot.”

The Raiders tried mightily in the end, fouling the Flames at will to conserve time. UIC made 10-of-12 free throws down the stretch as WSU could only get within two at 73-71 on Alex Kock’s three-pointer with 3.4 seconds left. Carr swished his final two free throws for the final margin.

Hollins carried the Raiders early, scoring 10 points with three assists in the first 10:39 of the game, as WSU took a 23-14 lead.

UIC fought back to forge a 33-33 tie at half after Poole’s layup with 7.4 seconds left.

Wright State’s star forward Seth Doliboa, who is in a shooting slump of late, continued to struggle. He played just five minutes in the first half after two early fouls and couldn’t shake the Flames’ defense in the second half, finishing the game 1-of-7 from the field for six points.

“Armond did a hell of a job on Doliboa,” Collins said. “He’s a very good player and very difficult to guard.”

Hollins led WSU with a season-high 26 points, along with seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. Kock chipped in with 12 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting.

The Raiders shot 54 percent from the field and a blistering 8-of-12 from three-point range, but 19 turnovers helped their demise.

“It was a tough back-and-forth game,” WSU coach Paul Biancardi said. “UIC made some big shots. We played with passion, but we didn’t play well enough to win.”

BUTLER COMES IN: The Flames close the regular season with Butler Saturday night at the Pavilion. The Bulldogs are 14-12 overall and 8-7 in the conference and defeated Youngstown State 81-76 Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The Bulldogs started the Horizon schedule with a 0-4 record, but have won six of seven since the Flames knocked them off 74-71 in overtime on Jan. 31 at Hinkle.

UIC is seeking a school-record-tying 22nd victory and for its first home win against Butler since a 72-62 decision in Feb. 1998.

The game tips off at 6 p.m., immediately following the senior-day ceremonies, and can be seen on Fox Sports Net. ESPN Radio 1000 will broadcast the game on tape delay after Bulls coverage.