New Big Man on Campus CRITTLE MAKES PRESENCE IN UIC DEBUT November 12, 2012
The 6-foot-9, 260-pound Crittle, who didn’t play in Wednesday’s exhibition, quickly asserted himself in the post with 15 points, seven rebounds, five blocked shots and three assists in the Flames’ 59-52 season-opening victory over UC-Riverside at the UIC Pavilion. Getting Crittle was a late blessing for Flames coach Howard Moore. The bruising senior center returned to his hometown at the end of the summer when he transferred from Central Florida after the school encountered NCAA sanctions. “He wanted to be a featured player, a guy to be relied on and trusted who can be there in the big moments, and he was a force,” Moore said. “That’s why Josh wanted to come here. He really set the tone for us.” Crittle, who prepped at Catholic League powerhouse Hales Franciscan, awakened the Flames’ post game, which was almost non-existent in the exhibition victory over UW-Platteville. “It felt great to put on this UIC jersey and perform in front of my family,” Crittle said. “Coach Moore sold me on the Flames. He made the [transfer] choice easy for me.” Crittle, along with junior forward Hayden Humes and sophomore guard Joey Miller, provided the offensive punch for the Flames (1-0). After UC-Riverside (0-2) scored on the opening possession of the game, Crittle responded with a layup to kick-start a run of 14 unanswered points. Humes scored all 10 of his points in the spurt and capped the run with his second 3-poiner, giving the Flames a 12-point lead less than 6 minutes into the contest. Miller, who came off the bench with 14 points in his first game as a Flame, scored nine first-half points on three 3-point baskets. His trey with 9:00 before halftime gave UIC its largest lead at 22-9. “I just try to bring energy to the court,” Miller said. “That’s how everyone who comes off the bench has got to play. Just bring some energy and good things will happen.” Then the Flames went cold for a while as the Highlanders battled back behind some second-chance points. UC-Riverside scored seven straight points, capped by Chris Patton’s 15-foot jumper.
The Flames’ starting guards, Talton and Daniel Barnes, went 1-for-11 for just three points in the opening half after combining for 39 points in the exhibition game. Moore said UIC’s defense made up for his senior leaders’ early offensive struggles. “I’d say we were guarding our tails off, and that’s what we did,” said Moore, whose Flames held the Highlanders to 35.2 percent shooting. “We really locked down our defense. We had to fight through some things and figure some things out on the fly, but the guys did a good job of adjusting.” But the UIC seniors had a big role in the Flames regaining control in the second half. Talton, who was scoreless in the first half, ended up with a solid stat line of 10 points, six rebounds, seven assists with no turnovers and four steals. Talton scored seven points during an 11-4 run to put the Flames back up 13 at 42-29 with 15:10 to play. After Crittle scored on a layup off a nice feed from Miller for a 48-38 lead, the Highlanders crept back into the game. Guinn capped a 9-2 run with a mid-range jumper to slice the lead to 50-47 with 4:08 to play and create doubt in the Flames’ minds. Miller, who transferred from Eastern Illinois, hit his fourth and final 3-pointer of the game at a critical moment, giving UIC its first field goal in over eight minutes and a 53-47 lead with 2:43 to play. “Bottom line, we executed when we needed to and guys stepped up and made big shots,” Moore said. Barnes finished with eight points, including the dagger 3-pointer with 1:07 left that put the Flames ahead 58-50. “These guys really came out with a purpose and doing what we need to do to turn this thing around,” Moore said. “We talked about our approach during the off-season. These guys are buying in, they’re doing what we ask them to do. The biggest thing is this was hard-fought win for a team that’s trying to find an identity, and I think we’re on the right path.” FLAMES FLICKERS: Joey Miller was playing against his father, Mike, who is an assistant coach with UC-Riverside. “It was an unique experience,” Joey Miller said. “It was good to get a win, get some bragging rights.” The two were together at EIU before Mike was dismissed at the end of the season. The NCAA granted Joey immediate eligibility with a hardship waiver. … UC-Riverside’s head coach was former Bulls assistant Jim Woolridge, who served under Tim Floyd. … The Flames had four players in double figures for the first time since a 72-61 loss to Milwaukee on Feb. 23, 2012. Marc Brown led the way with 17 points, followed by Humes (13), Talton (11) and Darrin Williams (11). … The Flames shot 38.8 percent from the field and 86.7 percent from the free-throw line and committed just nine turnovers to offset a 40-29 rebounding disadvantage. … Josh Fox’s 10 points and 10 rebounds led UC-Riverside, who was finishing a two-game trip to Chicago after losing to DePaul on Friday. … There was a moment of silence to honor former Flames baseball player and basketball season-ticket holder Jim Ryan, who died Feb. 27. … The Flames will travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands this weekend to play in the Paradise Jam. UIC will play New Mexico in an opening round game Friday at 3 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. |