Chicago, IL.- Josh Mayo's 16 second-half points and a tenacious defensive effort in the final stanza helped the UIC men's basketball team win a 66-56 decision over Toledo at the UIC Pavilion on Wednesday night.

UIC improved to 7-4, while the Rockets fell to 2-9.

Mayo finished with a game-high 22. The junior guard hit four treys, all after halftime.

Robert Kreps scored 12 points and handed out four assists off the bench. In the post Scott VanderMeer and Jeremy Buttell led the way with six rebounds each, and Jermaine Dailey added five rebounds and three rejections.

UIC went into intermission with a deficit for the first time at home this season, trailing 32-25 to the Rockets at halftime. Tyrone Kent, who finished with a team-high 19 points, hit three three-pointers to pace Toledo's early effort with 13 first-period points.

Mayo hit two consecutive three-pointers within the first 1:13 of the second half to cut UIC's deficit to one. After Toledo built its advantage up to as many as six, another Mayo three started a 9-0 UIC spurt that allowed the Flames to outscore the visitors 20-5 and take the lead for good.

The Flames clamped down defensively and allowed Toledo to score just 24 points in the second half, the lowest offensive output by an opponent in the final period this season.

UIC shot 56 percent (15-for-27) in the second half to finish with a clip of 50 percent (25-for-50) from the floor for the game. It marked the fourth time in five home games that UIC has shot 50 percent or better from the field.

The Flames kept their perfect home record intact with their fifth victory at the Pavilion in as many attempts. UIC has now won eight home games in a row dating back to last season.

UIC's 7-4 mark is the best 11-game start for the Flames since a 9-2 opening to the 2003-04 campaign.

UIC hosts Howard at the Pavilion this Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed