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Flames take free ride to Dayton MAYO, BUSH HELP UIC END UWM’S RUN (2/28/07)
The sophomore guard scored 22 points, including a perfect 14-for-14 from the free-throw line, and tallied six assists and five rebounds as UIC eliminated Wisconsin-Milwaukee from the Horizon League Tournament, 83-77 at the Pavilion on Tuesday night in an opening round game. Mayo’s performance follows up his game-winning shot from last Saturday’s 52-51 victory over Loyola. He entered Tuesday’s game shooting 86 percent from the charity stripe. Mayo made eight free throws in the final 1:20 of the contest to seal the victory for the No. 6 seed Flames (13-17), who advance to play third-seeded Loyola in Friday’s second round game at Wright State in Dayton. “A guy like Josh doesn’t need a lot of practice,” UIC associate coach Mark Coomes said. “He just needs to make sure he stays in a rhythm.” While Mayo slammed the door, it was junior Robert Bush that kick-started the Flames, who have won a season-high four straight games and have taken five of their six. Bush hit two three-pointers early in the first half to keep UIC close and then helped rally the Flames from a deficit. The often overlooked Bush finished with a career-high 21 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including 4-for-5 from three-point range.
After trailing by 10 in the first half, the Flames came back to take a 10-point advantage in the second half. Bush’s three-pointer with 9:49 left in the contest gave UIC a 56-46 lead and seemingly some cushion. “Good ball-movement helped out,” said Bush on his good shooting night. “Coach (Coomes) stressed extra passes. I was in a bit of a shooting slump from the three-point line. Tonight, I just had a lot of confidence.” Scott VanderMeer hit a short jumper and converted a three-point play to put the Flames up 67-58 with 5:04 left, but the No. 7 seed Panthers (9-22) didn’t quit. Avery Smith scored seven points, including a three-point play, in an 8-1 run to cut UWM’s deficit to 68-66 with 1:54 remaining. After Smith’s successful free throw, the Panthers brought out the press, but the Flames beat it easily with a lob pass to Jovan Stefanov, who dished to VanderMeer for a dunk to complete a 2-on-1 break. After a turnover by Smith with 1:32 left, the foul parade began and Mayo stepped up calmly sank shot after shot. “I figured they had to foul with the time that was remaining on the clock,” Mayo said. “I was just trying to get to the ball as fast as I possible. [My team was] expecting me to make them.” UWM closed to 77-74 on Paige Paulsen’s three-pointer with 24.1 seconds left, but Mayo hit two more free throws and Bush threw down a crowd-pleasing dunk after a steal to put the Flames ahead by seven in the final seconds. Five Flames scored in double figures. Supporting Mayo and Bush were T.J. Gray (11 points), Stefanov (10) and VanderMeer (10). Though Othyus Jeffers struggled from the field for the second straight game, he did score nine points to go with eight rebounds, four assists and foul steals.
“When I see three of my guys in double figures, I usually feel pretty good about it,” Panthers coach Rob Jeter said. “Coming into this game, we knew the capabilities of their guard play. We didn’t get enough stops. “We fought hard until the end, until they told us we couldn’t play anymore.” The Panthers shot well in the first half (48 percent) and they 13 assists on 15 first-half baskets. UWM grabbed a 31-21 lead on Franklin’s three-pointer with 6:12 before halftime, but then it went cold. UIC ended the first half on a 13-5 run, including six points from Stefanov, who hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 36-34 at the break. Bush’s third trey of the game put UIC on top 41-40 with 17:19 remaining in the game and helped trigger an 18-6 run. “Robert kept us in the game with those threes,” Coomes said. “Milwaukee really came to play. They attacked us.” UWM had a problem with the Flames’ 6-foot-11-inch VanderMeer. The sophomore blocked five mores shots and altered the Panthers’ plan of attack. “He’s a big guy, you do what you can,” said Paulsen, noting that his team wasn’t aggressive enough. “We’ve got to go at him and take it to his chest and get to the free-throw line.” For the game, UIC was 29-for-33 from the free-throw line (88 percent), while UWM was just 9-for-15 (60 percent). “We’re small and we can’t hide that,” Jeter said. “They have a 6-11 guy that can make a difference. He does a very good job of taking away things.”
Mayo is the third UIC player to earn the honor this season, joining Jeffers and Gray. FLAMES FLICKERS: One Flame will be etched into the Horizon League Tournament record book after Tuesday’s game. Mayo made all 14 of his free-throw attempts – the most attempts without miss in a tournament game. He fell just two short of the record of 16 total made by Detroit’s Willie Green in a 2003 game against Loyola. … VanderMeer’s five blocks would have tied the Horizon Tournament mark for most in a single game with four other players, but almost 200 miles to the North, UW-Green Bay’s Terry Evans recorded six rejections against Cleveland State to take the record for himself. … One of the most exciting sequences of the game came with about 5:40 left to play when VanderMeer snuffed a shot from Franklin and the ball was triggered free to Bush, who scored on a layup in transition. At that point, UIC took a 64-55 lead. … UIC is now 3-1 all-time against UWM in Horizon Tournament play, including wins in the 2002 quarterfinals in Cleveland and the 2004 championship in Milwaukee. The Panthers won 75-73 in the 2003 semifinals in Milwaukee. YOUNGSTOWN STATE 82, DETROIT 80: The No. 5 seeded Penguins nearly collapsed, but Keston Roberts saved the night when he hit a jumper to break a 79-77 tie in the final minute. Roberts scored 31 points, including 20 in the first half as YSU (14-16) built a nice cushion. Roberts scored the first 10 points of the game and hit another jumper to put the Penguins up 14-2. YSU led by as many as 19 points late in the first half and was still up 52-35 two minutes into the second. Junior Brandon Cotton scored 33 points, including 6-for-9 from three-point range, for the No. 8 seeded Titans (11-19). WISCONSIN-GREEN BAY 78, CLEVELAND STATE 59: Freshman Troy Cotton scored 19 points as the No. 4 seeded Fighting Phoenix (17-14) pulled away from the Vikings in the second half. Leading just 38-34 at half, UWGB went on a 16-6 run to break the game open. Cotton hit his fifth three-pointer of the game to put the Phoenix ahead 52-40, and Ryan Evanochko (16 points) stole the ball on the next CSU possession and went the length of the court for a layup. Bahaadar Russell scored 14 points to lead Cleveland State (10-21).
TUESDAY, FEB. 27 FIRST ROUND #6 UIC 83, #7 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 77 #5 Youngstown State 82, #8 Detroit 80 #4 Wisconsin-Green Bay 78, #9 Cleveland State 59 FRIDAY, MARCH 2 SECOND ROUND (NUTTER CENTER) #6 UIC (14-17) vs. #3 Loyola (20-10), 5 #5 Youngstown State (14-16) vs. #4 Wisconsin-Green Bay (17-14), 7 SATURDAY, MARCH 3 SEMIFINALS (NUTTER CENTER) UIC/Loyola vs. #2 Butler (26-5), 4 YSU/UWGB vs. #1 Wright State (21-9), 6 TUESDAY, MARCH 6 CHAMPIONSHIP At highest remaining seed, 8 |
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2007 HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT