Jan. 15, 2005

Final Stats

CHICAGO - After heading into the locker room at halftime tied at 29-29, UIC used a 15-2 run to open the second to hand Cleveland State a 74-57 loss at the UIC Pavilion on Saturday night. CSU closed the score to within eight but could come no closer as the Vikings dropped to 1-4 in the Horizon League and 4-9 overall.

Turnovers and poor shooting down the stretch spelled the difference for CSU in Chicago, as the Flames (8-7, 3-2 HL) would shoot 60 percent from the field in the second half to the Vikings' 33 percent.

"We would get the game close and then miss a free throw or a lay-up when we needed it," head coach Mike Garland said. "I think it has a lot to do with our youth, but our kids are learning.

"I thought we played 30 excellent minutes on the road. Our kids were fighting and doing everything they could do to stay in it. But this was a very physical ballgame, and UIC was able to use it to their advantage."

UIC also benefited from 38 rebounds, including 16 offensive boards, for 15 second-chance points while sinking 25 points off 21 CSU turnovers.

Senior forward Omari Westley paced the Vikings with 16 points (6-10) and nine boards. Sophomore guard Raheem Moss nailed four three-pointers en route to 14 points.

The UIC starting five were responsible for all of their offense. Armond Williams led all scorers with 17 while Elliott Poole totaled 16, including 12 in the second half, and 12 boards. Cedrick Banks (16), Jovan Stefanov (14) and Rocky Collum (11) also finished with double-digit totals.

CSU heads to Milwaukee on Thursday, Jan. 20 for an 8:30 EST showdown with the Horizon League-leading UW-Milwaukee Panthers.