Vikings show hustle and muscle

CSU’S PHYSICALITY, ATHLETICISM TOO MUCH FOR UIC

February 6, 2012

Whoosh! photo Flame of the Game Redshirt junior guard Daniel Barnes scored 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting and made two 3-pointers in the second half before the Flames went cold. He also tied his season-high with four steals in 35 minutes of action.

At one point in the first half of a physical game against Cleveland State on Sunday afternoon at the UIC Pavilion, a loose ball rolled to Howard Moore on the sideline.

The UIC coach probably could have crushed the air right out of the innocent basketball at that moment, because the visiting Vikings probably could have been charged with assault and battery and were getting away with it.

Cleveland State used its athleticism and physicality to wear down the Flames before blowing them out 70-42 the UIC Pavilion in a pre-Super Bowl clash where the teams probably should have worn helmets and shoulder pads.

Chicago native and Lincoln Park High School alumnus Jeremy Montgomery scored all 14 of his points in the second half to lead the Horizon League-leading Vikings (20-4, 10-2), who also got solid support from Trevon Harmon (13 points, four steals) and Anton Grady (12 points, 10 rebounds).

Senior center Darrin Williams scored 12 points to go with three blocks, sophomore forward Hayden Humes contributed 11 points and six rebounds and junior guard Daniel Barnes chipped in 10 points and four steals to lead the Flames (7-16, 3-10).

“I want to give credit to Cleveland State,” Moore said. “Gary’s got this team on the right path as go late into the season. They’re the class of our league right now. They’ve put together a team that’s difficult to prepare for with their pressure, their athletes and their skill. It’s just a great combination. I just told our guys, ‘We’re not there yet. We’re not on that level, by any means, yet.’ ”

Despite the Vikings’ swarming defense and the intense physical play, there were only eight fouls called (six on CSU) in the opening 20 minutes of play as CSU took a 24-17 into the locker room. The Flames wilted under the pressure, shooting just 7-for-24 from the field (29 percent) and committing 11 turnovers. The Vikings, meanwhile, shot 48 percent, but also committed 10 turnovers.

“I would rather the officiating adjust to the game, but I can only control my guys,” Moore said. “The biggest thing is you have to weather the storm. Regardless of the officials, we have to play to our strengths and we didn’t do that, but we were able to get stops [at the time]. In the first half, we did a good job of weathering the storm of our lack of mental toughness with the basketball. Eleven turnovers in the first half was just ridiculous.”

CSU took advantage of the loosely-officiated contest early on as Grady, a freshman forward, scored eight of the Vikings’ first 10 points during a game-opening 15-3 run. Grady started for CSU’s D’Aundray Brown, who is one of the Horizon League’s top defensive players, because Brown had a groin injury.

“With D’Aundray out, I knew I had to step my game up early, because I know D’Aundray brings a lot of early offense and hustle,” Grady said. “Somebody had to pick up the slack. I was confident.”

After Tim Kamczyc hit a layup to put CSU ahead 19-7 with 7:15 before halftime, the Flames finally put a run together and crawled back into the game.

Humes hit a pair of 3-pointers as UIC went on an 8-2 spurt. Humes’ second trey cut the deficit to 21-15 with 4:18 to go in the half.

“They hedge hard on ballscreens, so they leave someone open,” said Humes, who led the Flames with eight first-half points to keep UIC close for a while. “Our guards did a good job of finding the open guy when [CSU] hedged on ballscreens.”

Barnes converted a steal into a layup to pull the Flames within 22-17, but Trevon Harmon scored on a layup as the Vikings secured a seven-point going into the break.

Williams showed life early in the second half, scoring eight points and blocking a shot in the first 6:05. His layup pulled UIC with 36-28 with 13:55 left, but the game may have turned on CSU’s next trip down the floor.

Williams was called for an intentional for taking down Aaron Pogue, who split a pair from the line, but the Vikings kept the ball and Montgomery capped off the possession with a 3-pointer from the corner.

When it was over, CSU scored eight straight points following the intentional foul. Montgomery hit another 3-pointer to put the Vikings up 44-28 with 10:02 remaining.

“It was a big play,” Moore said. “It really wasn’t Darrin’s best judgment there.”

Barnes hit a pair of treys during an 8-4 run — the last coming with 7:44 left — to pull UIC within 48-36, but the Flames hit just one field goal the rest of the game as the Vikings ended the game on fire. CSU concluded the afternoon by scoring 22 of the game’s final 28 points.

The Vikings effectively smothered Flames’ point guard Gary Talton, limiting him to one point — on a free throw with 6:16 left in the game — on 0-for-8 shooting with three turnovers. Talton came into the game, averaging 11.6 points per contest.

“We’re a defensive team. We always key on [the opponent’s] best player,” Grady said. “If we can take him away, that’s going to make their offense more difficult to run.”

CSU shot 63 percent from the field and made 8-for-11 (73 percent) from downtown in the second half while holding UIC to just 26 percent from the floor after halftime.

“This was one of our better efforts at both ends of the floor,” CSU coach Gary Waters said. “We shot it extremely well and defensively, we did a great job and that’s what we’re built on.”

The game was another example of growing pains for a young UIC team facing the Horizon League’s elite.

“We’ve got to keep working and stay humble,” Moore said. “We beat Youngstown (on Thursday) and that’s great, but you have to get ready for the next challenge. I thought we were mentally ready for the challenge. We had some sharp practices, but when we got out there, it was a different story.”

FLAMES FLICKERS: Freshman point guard Greg Travis saw his first action since return to the active roster following his three-game suspension for violating team rules. Travis, who also sat out the Flames’ 72-68 win over Youngstown State on Thursday due to a coach’s decision, scored one point and went 0-for-3 from the field with three assists. … Junior guard Anthony Kelley, who has missed most of the campaign with a hamstring injury, scored his first points of the season, hitting a 3-pointer with 27.3 seconds left in the game. … UIC broadcaster Adam Levinson called his last game for the Flames on Sunday. He is taking a job with the Houston Rockets in the team’s corporate sales division. … The game was delayed for about 10-12 minutes as one of the shot clocks malfunctioned just before tipoff.

CSU won for the 10th straight time over UIC, including two games in the Horizon League tournament, since the start of the 2008-09 season. CSU beat UIC 73-56 at the Wolstein Center on Jan. 5. The Flames’ last victory over the Vikings came on Jan. 31, 2008 when UIC posted a 74-68 win at the Pavilion. Josh Mayo led the Flames with 29 points in that contest. … The Vikings opened their season with a non-conference win at Vanderbilt on Nov. 13, becoming the first non-conference foe to win in Nashville since UIC did it in the 2008-09 season.