Freshmen flourish in tough loss

Dixson, Matthews impress vs. Illini

By Mike Pankow

December 14, 2015

Mike Pankow/Whoosh! UIC freshman Dominique Matthews, who scored a career-high 18 points, drives against Illinois’ Kendrick Nunn in the first half on Saturday.

UIC’s freshmen weren’t intimidated by the bright lights of the United Center. In fact, they excelled in the house Michael Jordan built against a Big Ten team.

Dikembe Dixson and Dominique Matthews combined for nearly half of the Flames’ points, but it wasn’t quite enough against sister school Illinois in the Fighting Illini’s 83-79 victory on Saturday afternoon.

Malcolm Hill scored nine of his game-high 22 points in the final four minutes as the Illini (6-5) pulled away from a 66-66 tie. Jalen Coleman-Lands scored 15 points, including four 3-pointers and Michael Finke and Kendrick Nunn each contributed 14 points for Illinois, which improved to 14-2 all-time in the series with UIC.

But the Flames’ freshmen showed tremendous confidence and moxie.

Matthews scored his team’s first 12 points as the Flames (1-6) jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the first five minutes. He finished with a career-high 18 points – all in the first half.

Dixson was one of the stars of the second half, scoring 17 of his 20 points after halftime and finishing with his first career double-double as he secured 10 rebounds.

“I’m probably as hard on Dikembe and Dominique right now, for two freshmen, as you can be, because I need them to grow up quickly,” UIC coach Steve McClain said. “I need them to play like veterans. I thought Dominique came out and relaxed. He didn’t force anything. He got a rhythm going and his teammates did a good job of finding him. The same thing happened in the second half for Dikembe. It’s a sign of maturity for our team.”

The opposition was also really impressed with the Flames’ freshmen.

“Matthews was terrific,” Illinois coach John Groce said. “I thought he played really well offensively. I think Dixson has got a lot of potential, great size and length for a wing, and he gets physically stronger, I think he’s going to be really good.”

After Matthews’ early burst, he got into foul trouble, and the Illini took advantage.

Coleman-Lands and Hill hit a 3-pointer to kick-start an 11-0 run that put Illinois ahead 24-17 with 7:05 left in the first half.

Matthews hit four straight free throws to cut the Flames’ deficit to three, but Finke, a freshman center, hit two 3-pointers and scored all 12 points during the Illini’s 12-3 run to push the lead to 36-24 with 3:44 left before halftime.

The Illini took a 41-30 lead into the locker room, but it was UIC that came out on fire to start the second half.

Illinois kept pace for a while as Coleman-Lands hit a 3-pointer to give the Illini a 54-44 lead with 14:32 remaining.

Things could have gone south for the Flames with Matthews on the bench with four fouls, but Dixson started a 14-0 burst with a 3-pointer. It was a run executed by three freshmen (Dixson, plus Michael Kolawole and Hassan Thomas) and two sophomores (Lance Whitaker and Tai Odiase).

“They’re learning where the shots come from,” McClain said. “They’re learning how to get more comfortable. They’re learning what our system is. I’ve really got 13 freshmen, so I think they relaxed. Every game they get more comfortable and they’re getting a feel for their teammates, so that’s why they got easier shots today.”

Mike Pankow/Whoosh! UIC freshman Michael Kolawole looks to pass while Illinois’ Khalid Lewis defends.

Thomas tipped in his own miss (on a play reminiscent to Darrin Williams’ go-ahead tip-in against the Illini in the Flames’ upset in 2010) to pull the Flames to within 54-50 with 13:14 left.

Kolawole followed with a bucket after a drive inside to cut the deficit to two.

Dixson hit a floater to tie it, then knocked down a 16-foot jumper for the Flames’ first lead since midway through the first half at 56-54.

“The freshmen always come in and push us, even in practice,” said Whitaker, who finished with eight points, six rebounds and four assists. “We all push each other to improve every single day. It’s definitely impressive how our freshmen have been progressing. I feel like they’re growing up fast.”

Odiase converted a short hook shot to cap the run. After a Hill free throw, Dixson nailed a 17-foot jumper as UIC opened a 60-55 advantage with 9:25 showing. After the smoke cleared, the Flames made 13 of its 19 field-goal attempts of the second half.

“We were moving the basketball better in the second half,” McClain said. “We figured they were going to help, so somebody would be open.”

But UIC came back to earth as the Illini scored six straight points, capped by a hook shot by Moses Morgan, for a 61-60 edge with 7:32 to go.

Odiase’s tip-in put the Flames back on top at 62-61. After a basket by Hill, Dixson a 3-pointer gave UIC a 65-63 lead with 5:14 left. Coleman-Lands answered with 3-pointer on the other end and the Illini never trailed again.

Paris Burns hit a short running bank shot in the lane to cut Illinois’ lead to 70-68 with 3:13 on the clock, but the Illini countered six straight points, including a back-breaking 3-pointer by Nunn with 1:14 for a 76-68 advantage.

The Flames didn’t quit, hitting three 3-pointers in the final 1:01, including Burns’ shot that closed the gap to 82-79 with 3.4 seconds remaining. The Illini’s Khalid Lewis split a pair of free throws for the final margin.

“We’re definitely disappointed in the loss, but we realize how hard we played and we’re proud of that,” Whitaker said. “Us as players, we want to get the win, and this one definitely hurts. We feel like we progressed today.”

UIC pushed the Illini to their limits. The Flames shot 47.6 percent from the field, hit 9 of 15 3-pointers and outrebounded Illinois 40-30.

“I thought their interior players attacked,” Groce said. “[McClain] has got them playing really hard. Dixson played well in the second half. Burns put his head down a few times, got into the teeth of our defense, made some plays. I give them a lot of credit. They played with a lot of energy.”

FLAMES FLICKERS: Matthews and Whitaker each fouled out. After picking up three fouls in the first half, Matthews played just two minutes in the second half. He reentered the game with four fouls at 4:10 mark and fouled out on a hand-check just 21 seconds later. … Burns played a solid game despite foul trouble, finishing with 11 points, six assists and two assists in 25 minutes. … Odiase had seven points and eight rebounds after a slow start. … Junior forward Najeal Young slipped on the floor and appeared to injure his left leg with 12:08 left in the first half. He left the game and did not return after playing just six minutes with three rebounds. McClain declined to comment on the injury. … The Illini shot 24-for-35 from the free-throw line while UIC was 10-for-14. The Flames had 29 fouls compared to 15 for the Illini. … Hill was 11-for-14 from the foul line on his own. … The attendance of 5,151 was the lowest of any of the five Flames-Illini games at the United Center. … UIC’s lone win in those five games came in 2010 when the Flames beat Illinois 57-54.

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