Detroit and Wright State both enjoyed trips to Chicago, while Green Bay took an in-state rivalry game with Milwaukee on Saturday.
Revitalizing its defense at the break, Detroit (10-7, 4-1 Horizon) overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to hold off UIC (5-12, 0-5 Horizon) down the stretch in a 72-69 victory in the Horizon League Game of the Week. Up just one with 27 seconds to go, Chase Simon missed both free throws, but Ray McCallum grabbed the offensive board and converted the layup to put the Titans up three. The Flames never got a shot off to tie the game in two possessions.
Early on, it was UIC who came out the aggressor, with Paul Carter leading the way. The senior's inside and outside game carried the Flames to the halftime lead, with Carter posting his second straight double-double with 19 points and 10 boards. KC Robbins finished with a career-best 17, while Robo Kreps added 15.
McCallum ended the afternoon with a team-best 17, while Jason Calliste went 4-for-8 from the three-point line in posting 16 points. Chicago native Donavan Foster had 9 and LaMarcus Lowe 11 for the Titans, who played the final 27 minutes without starting center Eli Holman.
Wright State (11-6, 4-1 Horizon) matched its travel partner, locking down Loyola (10-7, 1-5 Horizon) in a 58-41 win at the Gentile Center. It was AJ Pacher who broke open a close game in the closing minutes of the first half, igniting a 14-1 run that gave the Raiders a 15-point halftime advantage.
In the game's first 20 minutes, Wright State was 12-of-23 from the field compared to 6-of-21 for the Ramblers.
Though Ben Averkamp scored the first four points of the second half, the Raiders extended their lead to 45-23 on a Troy Tabler three with 13:48 to play befre a 10-0 Loyola burst. Pacher, however, ended the WSU scoring drought with a dunk and after Loyola's Gabe Kindred answered with a three, Wright State put the game out of reach with a 9-0 run.
N'Gai Evans led all scorers with 15 points and had a near double-double as he added nine rebounds and dished out five assists. Pacher had his best game in his young Raider career with 13 points off the bench along with five rebounds while Vaughn Duggins chipped in 10 points.
In a battle between two Wisconsin-system schools, it was Green Bay (8-9, 2-3 Horizon) building an 18-point advantage and holding off a late Milwaukee (8-9, 3-3 Horizon) run to post a 69-64 victory. The backcourt duo of Bryquis Perine and Rahmon Fletcher split scoring duties, with Perine posting 11 of his game-high 17 points in the first half and Fletcher add 10 of his 13 in the game's final 20 minutes.
Fletcher spurred the game's decisive 20-3 run with seven points, helping the Phoenix turn a three-point halftime lead into a 58-40 lead with 7:21 to play.
The Panthers entered the game having hit 27 three-pointers in their last two games, but were limited to just 35.1-percent (20-57) shooting from the field and 34.6 percent from long range (9-of-26).
Steve Baker added 10 points for Green Bay, while Kaylon Williams led Milwaukee with 14 points. Tone Boyle and Anthony Hill finished with 13 and 12, respectively.
