Final Statistics |
Final Statistics in PDF Format
CHICAGO, Ill. - Southeast Missouri (3-4) held Illinois-Chicago (4-1) to under 30 percent shooting on its homecourt, but struggled to get things going offensively in a 56-45 setback Saturday afternoon at the UIC Pavilion.
Southeast, which leads the Ohio Valley Conference in field goal percentage defense, limited UIC to a mere 28.8 percent from the field as the Flames made just 19-of-66 attempts.
However, the Redhawks had problems scoring the basketball and wound up shooting a season-low 30.4 percent (17-of-56) despite getting several good looks.
“It was a strange game today. When you hold a team under 30 percent shooting, you feel like you have a pretty good chance to win,” said Southeast head coach
Dickey Nutt. “We're having a hard time scoring right now.”
Southeast led by one point three times in the second half, but things fell apart for the Redhawks in the final nine minutes.
Moments after
Corey Wilford's jumper gave Southeast a 37-36 cushion with 8:54 left to play, UIC went on a 10-2 run to build a seven-point lead.
The Redhawks missed three shots, fouled twice and had one turnover during that stretch that ended with five-straight points by Daniel Barnes, giving the Flames a 46-39 advantage at the 5:48 mark.
Southeast managed to cut it to five on
Nick Niemczyk's jumper (46-41, 5:36) and
Tyler Stone's layup (48-43, 3:47), but that was as close as the Redhawks would get down the stretch.
The Flames outscored the Redhawks 8-2 after Stone's basket and made six-consecutive free throws in the last 54 seconds to secure their 56-45 victory.
Southeast led by as many as seven points in the first half when it put together a 10-2 run to build a 16-9 advantage with just under 13 minutes left to play.
Wilford, who made his second career start and first this season, drained three 3-pointers, including one on back-to-back possessions at the end of the spurt to grab the Redhawks the lead.
UIC countered with nine unanswered points and pulled ahead, 18-16, on former Eastern Illinois University guard Joey Miller's three-pointer with 9:57 remaining.
Stone's free throw narrowed the gap to one, but Southeast went scoreless for the next three minutes.
The Flames capitalized on the drought with an 8-2 jaunt to grab a 26-19 lead with 5:13 left to play. Gary Talton dropped in five points in a row and buried a three-pointer on the backend of that spurt.
Wilford added two more free throws to make it a one-point game again (26-25) before Josh Crittle's jumper sent the Flames into the locker room with a slight 28-25 edge.
Southeast scored a season-low 45 points, its lowest point total in a non-conference game since the Redhawks had 44 against St. Bonaventure on Nov. 27, 2009.
Wilford shot 5-of-16 from the field and went 3-of-7 from three-point range en route to a team-high 15 points for Southeast. He also dished out a game-high three assists in his first start since Jan. 21, 2012. Wilford has now scored double figures four games in a row.
Stone followed with 14 points, while
Nino Johnson pulled down 10 rebounds. Stone reached double-digit points for the 33
rd time in his career. He has scored double figures in six-straight contests.
Additionally,
Marland Smith played in his 100
th career game at Southeast, scoring two points in six minutes off the bench.
Crittle, a transfer from Central Florida, led UIC with a double-double 17 points and 12 rebounds. Talton and Barnes followed with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Hayden Humes added 12 rebounds, as well.
UIC outrebounded Southeast, 50-40, and held a +10 margin (15-5) on the offensive glass. None of the Redhawk starters had an offensive rebound.
“We have to do a better job of rebounding and getting loose balls,” said Nutt. “There are other things we need to work on, but nothing that can't be fixed.”
Southeast also had 10 turnovers which led to 18 points for the Flames.
The Redhawks, who return to Cape Girardeau on a three-game losing streak, host NAIA affiliate Hannibal-LaGrange Monday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center.
