HOME NEWS SCHEDULE LINKS ARCHIVES ROSTER HISTORY CONTACT
Whoosh! Net News

Sad ending at Pavilion

SENIORS COME UP SHORT IN FINAL HOME GAME

March 2, 2014

Whoosh! photo

Flames senior Kelsey Barlow scored 16 points in his final game at the Pavilion.

It was Senior Day at the UIC Pavilion, but a visiting senior A.J. Pacher put his stamp on Saturday’s game.

A.J. Pacher, a 6-foot-10, 245-pound space eater, imposed his will as the Raiders used a late run to defeat the host Flames 68-61 in the regular season finale.

Pacher scored six points during a decisive 13-3 run and finished with 16 points as WSU (18-13, 10-6) wrapped up the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the Horizon League tournament. Matt Vest added 11 points and four assists for the Raiders.

UIC honored seniors Kelsey Barlow, Jordan Harks and Hayden Humes in a pre-game ceremony.

Barlow scored a team-high 16 points, 14 of which came in the second half, to lead the Flames (6-24, 1-15), who were looking to build off their impressive streak-busting 80-58 victory last Tuesday in Milwaukee.

Harks contributed 13 points and freshman Pat Birt added 12 points for UIC, which will travel to No. 4 Valparaiso for a first-round Horizon League tourney game Tuesday.

“It’s a tough loss,” UIC coach Howard Moore said. “We really wanted to send these seniors off on a good note. We weren’t able to accomplish that, but I thought we had good effort. We had a tough time keeping Pacher under control, he’s a load.”

The Flames started slowly in part because of two quick fouls on Barlow, who was sent to the bench with 16:13 left in the first half.

Using impeccable balance, seven different Raiders scored one basket as WSU built a 16-9 lead halfway through the period.

“They’ve got a bunch of guys who are selfless and understand who they are,” Moore said of the Raiders. “They share the ball very well, they move the ball very well. That puts a lot of pressure on your defense. The biggest thing is you can’t focus on one guy.”

But the Flames finally found a rhythm.

Birt came off the bench to help ignite an 11-0 run with five points. Harks capped the spurt with a layup for a 20-16 lead after the Flames won a scrap for a loose ball.

The Raiders briefly regained the lead before Birt converted a three-point play with 5:02 left. UIC looked strong in the latter part of the half, leading by as much as five points before the Raiders pulled to within 33-32 at the break.

With Barlow on the bench for most of the opening period, Birt had a game-high 10 points at the half while Harks added nine.

“Sometimes it’s blessing or a curse when another team’s best player goes out,” Wright State coach Billy Donlon said. “UIC’s urgency went up and they kicked our tails in the first half on all the toughness plays.”

Vest scored seven first-half points to keep WSU close in a half that saw both teams shoot at least 50 percent from the field.

Humes drilled UIC's first 3-pointer of the game for a 40-35 lead, but get Raiders countered with their most sustained run of the contest.

Chrishawn Hopkins hit a 3-pointer to give WSU the lead and J.T. Yoho and A.J. Pacher added jumpers to cap a 12-0 blitz for a 47-40 advantage before snapped the run with a follow tip.

Barlow scored nine points during a 12-2 run as the Flames surged back ahead 52-49, but again the Raiders had an answer as Pacher took over.

The Flames had one last gasp in the final minute, pulling within 64-61 on two Jake Wiegand free throws with 31 seconds showing. UIC forced Vest to turn the ball over on the inbounds, opening the door.

However, Barlow missed a pair of looks from 3-point range before the Raiders closed the game by making 4 of 6 from the free-throw line.

Whoosh! photo

UIC seniors Jordan Harks, Kelsey Barlow and Hayden Humes pose with their families before the game.

“We had some good looks at the basket down the stretch, but unfortunately those didn’t go down,” Moore said. “Our guys played with a refuse-to-lose mentality, but we just had some defensive breakdowns.”

UIC ended the regular season with 18 losses in 19 games and Donlon feels for the Flames after all of their struggles.

“Howard Moore is a terrific coach,” Donlon said. “He’s a stand-up man. He’s going to win. The way his kids have competed every night is a credit to him. You have years like this. When you lose games, it sometimes snowballs.”

Moore tipped his cap to his outgoing seniors, who kept playing hard despite the Flames’ record.

“I hope people don’t indict them on the record,” Moore said. “It was just a tough season all around. A lot of things didn’t go our way. I’ve seen seniors check out early, and these kids never checked out. These guys were always there trying to push the young guys. They’re still here fighting.”

FLAMES FLICKERS: Tuesday's win in Milwaukee was the largest margin of victory in a Horizon League road game since the Flames beat Cleveland State 96-72 on Feb. 18, 1998 en route to UIC's at-large berth in the NCAA tournament that season. ... UIC swept the series from Wright State last season before the Raiders won this season's first meeting 58-53 at the Nutter Center in Dayton on Jan. 12. ... UIC finished 2-12 at the Pavilion with both wins coming against NAIA schools. The Flames' last home win against a Division I opponent came in the CIT last season when UIC beat Chicago State 80-69 on March 20, 2013. … Junior guard Jay Parker finished with eight points, a team-high six rebounds, three assists and a career-high five steals in a career-best 39 minutes. … With the loss, UIC tied a school-record with its 24th loss.

2014 HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, MARCH 4 OPENING ROUND (at campus sites)

#9 UIC (6-24, 1-15) at #4 Valparaiso (17-14, 9-7), 7

#8 Detroit (13-18, 6-10) at #5 Milwaukee (17-13, 7-9), 6

#7 Youngstown State (15-16, 6-10) at #6 Oakland (12-19, 7-9), 6

FRIDAY, MARCH 7 SECOND ROUND (at Green Bay)

Youngstown State/Oakland winner vs. #3 Wright State (18-13, 10-6), 6

UIC/Valparaiso winner vs. Detroit/Milwaukee winner, 8:30

SATURDAY, MARCH 8 SEMIFINALS (at Green Bay)

Youngstown State/Oakland/Wright State winner vs. #2 Cleveland State (21-10, 12-4), 6

UIC/Valparaiso/Detroit/Milwaukee winner at #1 Green Bay (24-5, 14-2), 8:30

TUESDAY, MARCH 11 CHAMPIONSHIP (at highest remaining seed)

Semifinal winners, 6

In other recent news:
UIC 80, Milwaukee 58: Laying the smack down (2/26/14)
Oakland 86, UIC 71: Force is with Bader, Oakland (2/22/14)
Detroit 65, UIC 59: Tweet and sour (2/18/14)
Youngstown State 59, UIC 56: Another one gets away (2/17/14)
Cleveland State 73, UIC 53: Hot Vikings pull away (2/14/14)
Green Bay 81, UIC 70: Skid hits unlucky 13 (2/7/14)
Valparaiso 70, UIC 46: Wintry freeze continues, 12th straight loss (2/2/14)