Second-half surge lifts Flames in BCA opener

BANKS SCORES 25; OAKLAND UP NEXT

(11/15/03)

So far, so good.

What figures to be a dream season for UIC basketball started on a positive note as the Flames played an impressive second half en route to a 77-65 victory over the University of California-Irvine in the first round of the Black Coaches Association Classic.

Senior guard Cedrick Banks (pictured) scored 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting as the Flames (1-0), who shot 58 percent in the second half and forced 15 turnovers after halftime. Banks is now just eight points away from 1,000 in his college career. Fellow senior Aaron Carr scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half.

The Flames withstood a scoring flurry from UC-Irvine’s Stanislav Zuzak, who scored 29 points and made six three-point baskets. Zuzak, who also had eight rebounds for the game, scored 14 first-half points, including four three-pointers as the Anteaters (0-1) took a 36-35 lead into the break.

“It was an extremely hard-fought game,” UIC coach Jimmy Collins said. “We knew UC-Irvine had all the ingredients, but we didn’t know they would be as a tough as they showed tonight.

“In the second half, we picked up the intensity on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor and that saw us through.”

Banks had a driving layup to cap off a 13-0 run that put the Flames ahead 53-44 with 12 minutes left in the game. The run featured UIC’s full-court pressure rattling the Anteaters into numerous turnovers.

UC-Irvine took the lead back with a 10-0 run as Zuzak got hot again. UIC bounced back and finished strong, closing the game with a 20-7 run in the last nine minutes.

With the victory, UIC advances to a semifinal game with Oakland, which rolled past San Diego 93-68 in the day’s first contest. Six-foot guard Mike Helms poured in a BCA Classic-record 31 points and Rawle Marshall added 19 points as Oakland opened up a 53-33 halftime lead.

The Flames and Anteaters were so physical in the second half that both teams were in the bonus within the first five minutes. Irvine’s Adam Parada and UIC’s Josip Petrusic both were assessed technicals as they mixed it up, while setting up for an inbound play.

There were 49 fouls and 42 free-throw attempts in the game that saw both UIC’s Joe Scott and eventually Zuzak foul out. Scott fouled out with nine points in just 12 minutes, while Petrusic had four fouls in six minutes.

UC-Irvine led by as many as eight points in the opening half, but the Flames crawled back into the contest. Freshman Marcetteaus McGee, who had seven points in his college debut, banked in a three-pointer at the first-half buzzer to pull UIC within one.

Flames point guard Martell Bailey, who led the nation in assists last season, had eight points and six assists. Armond Williams had six rebounds to lead UIC in that category, but the Flames were out-rebounded 37-31 for the game.

UP NEXT: The Flames will take on Oakland in Sunday’s first semifinal. The Golden Grizzlies were 17-11 overall and 10-4 in the Mid-Continent Conference last season. They return all five of their starters from last year, including the dazzling Helms.

Helms, a senior from Detroit, averaged 26.9 points (third in the nation), 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game last season. He spends a lot of time at the free-throw line, sinking 196-of-263 attempts for a 75 percent clip.

The other two key players to watch are 6-foot-7 junior guard Marshall and 6-foot-6, 260-pound junior forward Cortney Scott. Marshall averaged 18.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest, while Scott had averages of 14.5 points and 8.7 boards per game.

The contest will air live at 5 p.m. on ESPN Radio 1000.

OTHER BCA ACTION: On the other side of the bracket, host Xavier (1-0) defeated Coppin State 62-37 as Romain Sato scored 24 points. The Musketeers will take on Mercer in one Sunday semifinal. Coppin State (0-1) shot just 25 percent from the field.

The Bears (1-0) edged Ohio 67-64 on James Odoms’ desperation three-point basket with seven-tenths of a second left in the game. Odoms and Scott Emerson each scored 14 points to lead Mercer. Jaivon Harris had a game-high 17 points for Ohio (0-1).

FORMER FLAMES: Several former Flames are playing with various travel teams during the preseason.

Kenny Williams, who holds the school’s all-time record for points with 2,025, is playing with Team Nike and scored 27 points in a game against Marquette.

Cory Little, who played against UIC with the Illinois All-Stars last week, poured in 22 points in an overtime loss to Notre Dame Friday night. He had 11 points against Loyola on Saturday.

Both Mike King and Joel Bullock played for the Cap’s All-Stars team that fell to Valparaiso Thursday night. King had game-highs of 31 points and 12 rebounds in a 91-82 loss to the Crusaders. Bullock added three points and four rebounds.