Carr drives Flames to fourth straight victory

(12/22/02)

Cedrick Banks is human.

UIC’s leading scorer put up just 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting against Wisconsin-Green Bay Saturday night, but Banks had some back up in fellow junior Aaron Carr.

Carr (pictured) scored a career-best 24 points on 8-of-11 from the field as the Flames won their fourth straight with a 78-71 victory over the Phoenix in the teams’ Horizon League opener at the brand new Resch Center in Green Bay.

The Flames (6-2, 1-0), who led 46-36 at halftime on the strength of 59 percent shooting, opened the second half on a 9-0 run, led by seven points from Carr. Carr nailed a three-pointer and two jumpers to give UIC a 19-point lead.

Wisconsin-Green Bay (3-6, 0-1) went on a late 11-3 run to pull within 75-71 with 17.1 seconds left, but Carr finished off the victory with three free throws.

Besides Carr and Banks, Kyle Kickert provided 12 points and five rebounds and Martell Bailey added 11 points and eight assists. Armond Williams secured nine of the Flames’ 37 rebounds.

Bailey scored 10 first-half points, including six in a key 17-3 run that helped UIC overcome an early deficit.

Four Phoenix players scored in double figures, including Mike King, who finished with 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Terry Parker chipped in with 12 points, Brandon Hansen 11 and Greg Babcock 10.

The Flames curtailed a red-hot Matt Rohde, who had scored 20, 26 and 18 points in his previous three outings. Rohde shot just 2-of-10 from the field and scored only nine points.

UP NEXT: UIC takes on Indiana State Monday night at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute. The Flames rolled past the Sycamores 70-54 in last year’s season opener at the Pavilion.

Indiana State has a few Chicago-area talents, including freshman guard David Moss from Thornwood, junior guard Marcus Howard from Elgin, and sophomore point guard Lamar Grimes from Gage Park.

The game tips off at 6 p.m., but there is no radio broadcast due to a Bulls game on ESPN Radio 1000.