Chicagoland Schools Notch Wins on Monday

UIC and Loyola each collected wins on Monday, coming in far different fashion.

Loyola 69, Rockhurst 46
Loyola (4-7) collected its third straight win, dominating Rockhurst, 69-46, at Gentile Arena.

For the third consecutive game, not coincidentally, Ben Averkamp eclipsed the 20-point mark, tallying 23 points in 32 minutes. Over the last three contests - all Loyola wins - Averkamp is averaging 25.0 ppg.

The Ramblers led from start to finish, holding the Division II Rockhurst to 35 percent shooting. Loyola led by as many as 28 points in the second half.

Three Loyola players finished in double figures, as Walt Gibler added 13 and Denzel Brito 10. The Ramblers were aided by the return of Jordan Hicks, who appeared in his first game since Dec. 4, 2010. Hicks finished with six points, two rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes.

UIC 57, Western Illinois
UIC (4-7) trailed by eight points with 2:25 to play, but scored 10 of the final 11 points of the game to squeak past Western Illinois, 57-56, at the UIC Pavilion.

An Obi Emegano free throw put the visiting Leathernecks ahead, 55-47, with 2:25 remaining, but Daniel Barnes and Gary Talton combined to lead to the Flames to the win. Barnes got the rally started with two free throws before Talton converted a three-pointer and traditional three-point play to draw UIC withing a point at 56-55 with 1:03 left.

Two missed Western Illinois free throws gave UIC the ball with 40 ticks left, but a turnover appeared to thwart the Flames' comeback. On the subsequent inboounds, however, Talton came away with the steal, and following a UIC timeout, drove the lane and banked in a layup with three seconds to play to swipe the win for UIC.

Barnes scored a career-high 22 points to lead all scorers, while Talton added 15, eight of those coming in the game's last two minutes. Darrin Williams chipped in 13 on 5-of-8 shooting.

South Florida 70, #rv/- Cleveland State 55
In its first game in over a week, Cleveland State (10-2) shot just 34.9 percent from the floor, falling to South Florida, 70-55, at the St. Pete Times Forum on Monday.

Despite shooting just 33.3 percent in the first half, the Vikings found themselves ahead, 27-25, with 17:40 to play after a free throw from Aaron Pogue. However, South Florida would catch fire the rest of the way, shooting 65.0 percent in the second half and building a lead that grew to 17 points down the stretch.

Cleveland State relied on three-point shooting throughout the night, going 7-of-26 from behoind the arc en route to 22-for-63 shooting in the game. Tim Kamczyc led the Vikings with 14, while Trey Harmon and Anton Grady chipped in 11 and 10, respectively.

Akron 88, Youngstown State 62
Youngstown State (6-5) was done in by a season-high 21 turnovers, losing at Akron, 88-62.

DuShawn Brooks had 20 points to lead the Penguins, but turnovers fueled several Akron runs, including a 10-0 burst that flipped a 12-7 YSU lead into a 17-12 Akron advantage and had the Penguins playing catchup the rest of the game. Youngstown State was able to tie the game at 19, but Akron would respond with a 17-3 run to assume control.

Kendrick Perry and Damian Eargle each had eight points, with Perry adding five assists and Eargle contributing nine boards and six blocks.