Mayo an opening night delight

CONFIDENT FLAMES KNOCK OFF BRADLEY

November 11, 2007

Whoosh! photo Josh Mayo rained in 24 of his career-high 34 points in the second half against Bradley.

Coming into its season opener, UIC knew the pedigree of its opponent.

Bradley was coming off consecutive 22-win seasons, one of which produced an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. The Braves were also picked second behind Southern Illinois in the ultra-competitive Missouri Valley Conference.

But the Flames weren’t timid as junior Josh Mayo poured in a career-best 34 points to lead a spirited team effort in an 84-75 victory at the UIC Pavilion on Saturday night.

“There was no talk of losing or fear of a letdown,” UIC coach Jimmy Collins said. “Our shoot-around this morning was spirited. Everyone was excited to play.”

Mayo, reprising his role as the Flames’ baby-faced assassin, shot 11-for-17 from the field, including 3-for-4 from three-point land, and made all nine of free throws.

“We weren’t afraid of these guys,” said the 5-foot-11 guard. “We weren’t going to back down from them.”

In a key sequence with just under a minute remaining and the Flames leading 76-70, UIC had to inbound the ball from under its own basket with just four seconds left to shoot. Sophomore Spencer Stewart threw the pass to Mayo, sitting wide open in the corner, and Mayo buried the dagger for a nine-point lead.

Mayo got a quick little pep talk from his backcourt partner and roommate.

“Spence came up to me and said, ‘There’s four seconds left on the [shot] clock, Josh. You know the play. You know what to do – catch it and shoot it.”

Mayo bettered his previous career high of 26, which he got against Davidson last season. He scored 24 of his 34 in the second half – coming up only two points short of the Pavilion record for points in a half.

“We knew Mayo was good,” Bradley coach Jim Les said. “Every time they needed a basket they got him the ball and he made it.”

UIC was excited the second they exited the locker room, building a 15-point first-half lead. The Flames’ two freshmen, Tori Boyd and Robert Kreps, were a big part of laying that foundation.

Whoosh! photo Freshman Tori Boyd scored 11 points in his Flames’ debut and keyed a huge run in the first half.

Boyd, a 6-foot-5 forward, scored 11 points on 4-for-9 from the field, including two three-pointers, while Kreps, a 6-foot guard, made all three of his shots for seven points and grabbed a team-high-tying five rebounds.

“These guys are team players and winners,” Collins said. “You didn’t know they were freshmen unless I told you. They played like upperclassmen.”

Collins praised Kreps for his steady hand in helping run the offense.

“I give credit to my young pup, Robert Kreps,” Collins said. “He did a good job. You won’t see it in the stat sheet, but he let Josh get the rest he needed.”

Boyd, the left-hander from Rockford, showed the potential of becoming a superstar with his all-around play.

“It was a coming-out party for me,” Boyd said. “I planned to go out there and work as hard as I could, whether it was guarding little guys, guarding big guys. The offense is going to come, no matter who gets it.

Boyd was instrumental in the Flames’ early run, nailing two three-pointers and hitting Karl White Jr. with a pass that lead to a three-pointer to cap 9-0 spurt and put UIC up 27-12 with 8:59 left in the first half.

Bradley crept back into game after consecutive treys by Jeremy Crouch (team-high 19 points) and Daniel Ruffin hit a fadeaway three with time ticking down to cut the deficit to 34-32 at the half.

The Braves took their first lead of the game at 37-36 when Andrew Warren hit a three-pointer a minute into the second half. The teams traded the lead a couple of times until Stewart nailed a trifecta from the left elbow with 16:36 left to give the Flames the lead for good.

Whoosh! photo UIC coach Jimmy Collins shakes hands with Bradley players after the victory.

After a layup by Bradley’s David Collins, UIC rattled off seven straight points, capped off by another Mayo three and a Jermaine Dailey tip-in, to go ahead 52-44.

The Flames built another double-digit lead as Kreps nailed a triple with 5:43 remaining for a 68-56 advantage. Bradley battled back again and pulled within 74-70 on Warren’s layup with 1:57 to go, but Stewart hit two free throws and Mayo drilled the back-breaking three.

“[The Flames] came out and were the aggressors,” Les said. “They made all the big plays.”

Stewart contributed 10 points and six assists, while White chipped in with seven points in 31 solid minutes.

Crouch led the Braves with 19 points, including five three-point baskets.

UIC was efficient, hitting 54 percent of its shots from the field and 69 percent (9-for-13) from downtown. The Flames’ defense held Bradley to 41 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point land.

“What really won us this game was the togetherness,” Collins said. “They looked as if they were in full bloom. We had so many people contribute against a great team. I couldn’t have asked for any better.”

A LOT OF MAYO: With his career-high 34 points, Mayo scored the most points by a Flame since Cedrick Banks poured in 39 points on Senior Night against Wright State on Feb. 23, 2005.

After missing two free throws in Tuesday’s exhibition game against Lewis, Mayo was a perfect 9-for-9 on Saturday, extending his streak to 29 consecutive free throws made dating back to last season – seven shy of the team record held by Bill Merchantz (1977-78).

BUSH UPDATE: The estimated return date of senior swingman Robert Bush is still sometime in the next 2-to-4 weeks. Bush had his left knee scoped this past week and hopes to return as soon as the Central Michigan game on Nov. 28.

Bush was in good spirits before the game and was looking forward to the Flames’ trip to the Virgin Islands next weekend.

Whoosh! photo Even though he had a career-high 14 assists, Bradley point guard Daniel Ruffin still had a tough night.

TWO MINUTES FOR RUFFIN: Ruffin, Bradley’s senior point guard, had an up-and-down game, scoring 14 points and handing out 14 assists, but he also shot just 4-for-15 from the field and committed seven turnovers while playing the entire 40 minutes.

“We came out behind from the start. I found ourselves trying to catch up in one possession instead of taking our time and realizing it’s a long game,” Ruffin said.

Ruffin was also fortunate not to get a technical foul after tossing the ball in Mayo’s face as a timeout was called in front of the Bradley bench with 5:33 left in the game. Mayo did not retaliate and just walked back to the UIC bench.

FLAMES FLICKERS: Boyd was the first true freshman to score in double figures in his first game since Joe Scott had 16 points in an 89-69 victory over Norfolk State on Nov. 19, 1999. Banks had 12 points in his first game as a Flame, in which he was originally classified as a Prop 48 sophomore, in a 70-54 win over Indiana State on Nov. 18, 2001. …

Junior center Scott VanderMeer had a so-so game, but he did have five blocks—all in the second half. He also slammed home a dunk in the first half on a beautiful fastbreak ran by Kreps and Boyd. …

The Flames are now 1-2 against Bradley all-time. They will return a visit to Peoria next season. …

UIC will host sister school Illinois-Springfield, an NAIA school coached by former Boston Celtic Kevin Gamble, on Tuesday night. The game will be available via streaming on www.horizonleague.tv (video), www.uicflames.com (audio).