Second Half Comebacks Send UIC and WSU to Wins

Men's Basketball Scoreboard (Dec. 11)
UIC 71, UCF 60
Wright State 79, Belmont 71

UIC 71, UCF 60
Fifth-year transfer Jay Harris poured in a career-high 32 points as the UIC men’s basketball team (3-7) claimed a 71-60 home victory against Central Florida (5-3) on Thursday night inside the UIC Pavilion. The Flames were down three (30-27) at halftime, but outscored the Knights, 44-30, in the final period to secure the non-league win.

“Tonight was the most complete game we have played all season,” said head coach Howard Moore. “Our starters gave us great momentum and our defense had high intensity all night. Jay (Harris) hit a bunch of tough shots, which took off some pressure that we have been experiencing in previous games. This was a true team win and everyone contributed.”

Harris becomes the first UIC player in more than seven years to score 32 points in a home game. Former All-League guard Josh Mayo scored 32 points on Dec. 8, 2007 against Green Bay.  Harris’ total now stands as the highest single-game output in the Horizon League this season. The Aurora, Ill. native also recorded a new career-best with nine made field goals, shooting 9-of-16 and 4-of-9 from three-point range.

Junior Jake Wiegand tallied 12 points for his seventh double-digit effort of the season. The forward also grabbed seven rebounds as did junior Jason McClellan, his career-high in Division-I play.

Senior Marc Brown chipped in eight points and dished out a season-high four assists, while going 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Brown is shooting 92 percent from the free throw line this season, which ranks first in the Horizon League. Brown was matched up with UCF’s freshman standout Adonys Henriquez for most of the night and held the 6-foot-6 guard to five points.

“Marc (Brown) played locked down defense,” said Moore. “Tonight was the Marc Brown that we’ve been waiting for. We will expect that kind of hard-nosed defense out of Marc for the rest of the season.”

Freshman Tai Odiase finished with six points and four rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Odiase was instrumental down low in the second half as he forced UCF into early foul trouble.

“Tai did not play like a freshman tonight,” said Moore. “He had to play against older and much bigger guys, and I thought he performed very well.”

The Flames started fast and jumped out to a 14-3 lead by the 15:21 mark. The Flames scored its first four points in the paint, and Harris sank two early threes to ignite the offense.

UCF fought their way back and knotted the score at 20-20 with 6:41 left in the first half and eventually took hold of a 30-27 halftime advantage.  The Knights made seven of their last nine shots to end the period. Harris had 15 points at the break to lead all scorers.

UIC began the second frame with an 11-3 run, which included two consecutive fast break layups from junior D'Juan Miller.  Miller had a solid all-around performance with nine points, five assists and two steals.

UCF pulled within one point of the Flames on three occasions over the next eight minutes, but a 7-2 spurt with five minutes remaining gave UIC a double-digit lead (62-52). The Flames sealed the deal by hitting 9-of-10 foul shots in the final two minutes to improve their home record to 3-2.

UIC ramped up its defense in the second half and held the Knights to 38.5 percent shooting in the final stanza. The Flames also forced 17 UCF turnovers and converted those miscues into 13 points.

UIC out-rebounded the Knights, 38-31, and scored 13 second-chance points off of 12 offensive boards.

Wright State 79, Belmont 71
Down seven early in the second half, the Wright State men's basketball team outscored Belmont 40-25 the final 15:47 for a 79-71 win over the Bruins Thursday night at the Curb Events Center.

After three quick ties, Belmont took the lead in the first half with four straight points and held it throughout the period, extending the margin to as much as 27-18 on two Amanze Egekeze free throws at the 4:25 mark.

The Raiders cut into the deficit and trailed by just one on a Grant Benzinger three in the right corner with seven seconds remaining, only to see Jeff Laidig connected on a desperation three from three-quarters court to give the Bruins a 36-32 halftime advantage.

WSU shot 48 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including four of seven from three, while Belmont shot 44 percent and was four of 11 from behind the arc.  The Bruins, though, were also 10 of 13 at the foul line compared to just two of two for Wright State.

A Reece Chamberlain layup put Belmont up 46-39 with 15:57 to play, but the Raiders stormed back to tie it with seven straight points, capped off by a JT Yoho three.  The Bruins went back up six on a pair of threes, only to see WSU chip away and eventually take its first lead of the game at 55-54 on a Michael Karena hook shot with 9:26 left.

Belmont regained the lead before Joe Thomasson gave Wright State the lead for good with a fast-break dunk at the 2:19 mark.  A Yoho three made it a two-possession game and the Raiders maintained the lead the rest of the way, sealing the win on a Chrishawn Hopkins jumper with 41.8 seconds left and two foul shots from the senior guard at the i31.1-second mark.

WSU scorched the nets in the second half, hitting 17 of 27 shots for 63 percent, including six of eight three-pointers, while the Bruins shot 44 percent.  The Raiders led 34-22 in points in the paint and 14-9 in second-chance points.

Yoho led Wright State with 16 points while Karena scored all but two of 12 of his points in the second half.  Benzinger had 11 points while Reggie Arceneaux and Steven Davis had nine each.