UIC and CSU Advance to #HLMBB Semifinals

UIC trailed by as much as 15 in the first half, but the Flames battled back to defeat third-seed Oakland, 72-69, in the second round of the Horizon League Tournament played at the Athletics Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Ind.

The win puts UIC’s into the Horizon League semifinals for the first time since 2008. The Flames will face two-seed Green Bay on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

UIC opened the second half on a 13-2 run to turn a 30-25 halftime deficit into a 38-32 lead. Oakland responded with a 13-4 run to retake the lead 45-42 with 12:47 left in the contest. The game remained a one possession contest for the next 10 minutes until Lance Whitaker drilled a three-pointer to give UIC a 60-56 lead with 2:33 remaining. The Flames forced a turnover on the next possession and Ahman Fells made a layup to give UIC a six-point lead with 1:56 left.

The Golden Grizzlies were not done though, Kahlil Felder drained a three on the next possession to cut the lead in half, and after a UIC dunk Dante Williams hit a three and was fouled and after making the ensuing free throw, Oakland found itself down just one, 64-63, with 43 seconds left.

Oakland was called for an intentional foul on the next play and UIC connected on three of four free throws to push the lead back to four before Oakland could get possession again. Again, though, the Golden Grizzlies answered as Felder scored three points again, this time the old fashion way, to once again bring Oakland within one with 21 seconds left.

Jay Harris made two free throws to push the lead back to three and Tai Odiase added another to push the lead back to two possessions. Felder made a three-pointer with five seconds left to cut the lead to one, but Harris wrapped up the game by making both free throw attempts and Oakland’s desperation heave was short.

Harris led UIC with 20 points, while Marc Brown added 19. Odiase recorded his second career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He added a career-high tying four blocks in the effort.

Williams led the Golden Grizzlies with 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting from long distance. Felder also scored 21 points for Oakland, but shot just 7-of-25 from the field, and was held to a season-low three assists in the contest.

Oakland jumped out to a 17-3 lead, courtesy of a 17-0 run. The Flames opened the scoring with a three-pointer from Jay Harris, but Oakland rolled off 17 consecutive points over the next six minutes as UIC went almost seven minutes without a bucket.

The Flames trailed 27-16 with 4:40 to go in the first half, but went on a 9-0 run to get within 27-25 on Harris’ third three-pointer of the half. Dante Williams answered with a three-pointer on Oakland’s next possession to send the Golden Grizzlies into the break up, 30-25.

Cleveland State 70, Detroit 53
Cleveland State shot 51 percent from the field in the second game of the day to pull away from Detroit for a 70-53 win.

The win was CSU’s first in the Horizon League Tournament since 2011 and snapped the Vikings’ four-game losing streak in the tourney.

Cleveland State will face host and top-seed Valparaiso in the semifinals on Saturday with tipoff scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET.

CSU held a 10-point lead at the break in a sloppy first half that saw the two teams combine for 24 turnovers. Detroit cut the lead to seven at the beginning of the second half, but the Vikings effectively ended the game over the next eight minutes as a 24-6 run put CSU up 55-30 with 11:22 to go in the game.

Charlie Lee and Trey Lewis combined to score 33 points as the backcourt duo was 8-of-12 from three-point range. Overall, the Vikings shot a season-best 60 percent from three-point (9-of-15). Marlin Mason was one point short of a double-double as he led the Vikings with 13 rebounds.

Chris Jenkins led the Titans in scoring for the second consecutive game, finishing with 14 points. Jarod Williams added 12 points and the League’s Freshman of the Year, Paris Bass, contributed 10 points. Detroit was held to a season-low 53 points in the loss.