Brown on fire as Flames roll

OFFENSE LOOKS GREAT, DEFENSE NEEDS WORK

November 14, 2013

Whoosh! photo Junior guard Marc Brown poured in a career-best 25 points against Roosevelt on Wednesday night.

UIC made things look easy against Roosevelt with its dominance in the paint Wednesday night.

Four nights after a tough loss to Drake in the season opener, the Flames looked inside while rolling to an 87-65 victory over their NAIA opposition at the UIC Pavilion.

Junior Marc Brown showed off a diversified game, scoring 25 points on 11-for-14 shooting, to lead the Flames (1-1), who shot 60 percent from the field. Brown eclipsed his previous career high of 24, which he scored against Evansville as a freshman on Nov. 23, 2011.

“He’s got his head in the right place,” UIC coach Howard Moore said. “He understands that we’re a defensive-minded team and he’s scoring off opportunities. I’m really proud of the way he’s approached the game. He’s not playing selfishly, he’s playing within the flow of what the defense is giving him, but he’s aggressive.”

Brown scored in a variety of ways, utilizing his inside abilities and mid-range game for much of the first half, while making both of his 3-point attempts during a 14-point second half.

“When he was able to put his shoulders down and drive, he did it,” Moore said. “When he was able to post up, he was strong and really went at the basket, and when he had some open looks from the perimeter, he knocked them down.”

UIC scored 56 points in the paint against an undersized Lakers outfit. The Flames took a 38-29 lead at the half as they tallied 32 inside points while going 0-for-5 from 3-point range in the opening period.

“I’m really happy about our offensive attack as far as getting into the paint and driving,” Moore said. “We didn’t settle for threes.”

With the inside game clicking, the 3-point shot opened up in the second half as UIC made all four of its attempts from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes.

It wasn’t all rosy for UIC.

After the Flames opened the game on a 14-5 run, including three inside baskets by sophomore Jake Wiegand and two buckets by Brown, UIC’s defense relaxed a bit.

The Lakers, who trailed by as many as 10 in the opening half, rallied to within 33-29. The Flames, however, finished the half with five straight points in the final two minutes for a nine-point lead at intermission.

After a spirited halftime discussion among the team in the locker room, UIC showed much fire on the defensive end for the first several minutes of the second half.

Whoosh! photo Sophomore guard Gabe Snider contributed a career-high eight points in his first career start.

The Flames forced six turnovers during a 14-3 spurt to open a 52-32 advantage and UIC coasted from there. Sophomore guard Gabe Snider, who made his first career start, scored all eight of his career-best in points during the run, including a pair of 3-pointers.

“There was a lot said about of defensive intensity,” Moore said. “I also thought we had some poor turnovers, especially in transition. We had to get ourselves back on track and play better basketball. Once our veterans got settled, I thought we were better.”

The Flames led by as many as 25, but some poor perimeter defense left a bad taste in Moore’s mouth as Roosevelt hit 11 of 17 from 3-point range. Korey Ryan nailed 6 of 7 from deep and finished with a team-high 23 points for the Lakers.

UIC has three days to tighten up the perimeter for a visit from Eastern Illinois.

“We’ve got to be more locked in defensively,” Moore said. “Giving up 11 threes is way too many and they took advantage of our defense protecting the paint. We have to do a better job of recovering to the shooters.”

FLAMES FLICKERS: UIC defeated Roosevelt for the fourth straight season. The Flames won last year’s contest 81-43 as part of their 9-1 start. … Flames senior guard Kelsey Barlow, who continues to recover from a sprained ankle last month, scored 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting with five assists and two steals. … UIC junior guard Jay Parker didn’t have a field goal, but he contributed a team-high-tying five assists. … UIC outrebounded the Lakers 32-23 and forced 20 turnovers while committing just 11. … Freshman guard Markese McGuire contributed eight points on 3-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the foul line in 12 minutes off the bench. … The Flames shot 60 percent from the field for the first time since Dec. 6, 2007 — a 91-73 home win over Milwaukee. … UIC senior forward Jordan Harks faced off against brother Joe, a guard on Roosevelt. Jordan fouled Joe on a drive to the basket with 14:01 left in the first half. Joe outscored Jordan 15-2, but Jordan took home bragging rights with the victory. … Every Flame played except from freshman guard Marcus White.