INDIANAPOLIS -- UIC trailed by as many as 13 points Thursday night, but orchestrated a tremendous second-half comeback to topple the IUPUI Jaguars, 70-65, to earn its first road win of the season and the first victory in Horizon League play.

After trailing by seven at the break, the Flames (6-10, 1-2 Horizon League) shot 48.8 percent for the game and turned the ball over only five times in the second half to defeat the Jaguars (4-11, 1-3 Horizon League). Both Marcus Ottey and Dikembe Dixson scored a game-high 19 points to lead UIC to victory. Dixson, a sophomore, became only the 22^nd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Ottey missed only two field goals (7-of-9) and one free throw (5-of-6) while adding six rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists.

First Half Headlines

• Cold Shooting Early on Chilly Night: The Flames did not get off to a strong start shooting the ball in their first visit to Indiana Farmers Coliseum since IUPUI joined the conference. UIC made only three of its first nine shots at the under-8 media timeout which came with 7:45 left in the first half. From that point on, however, the squad made eight of 10 field-goal attempts to finish the first half shooting 57.9 percent (11-of-19).
• Turnovers Trouble UIC: UIC was hampered by miscues in the first half. The Flames turned the ball over 12 times and IUPUI was able to convert those opportunities into 16 points. Those tallies helped the Jaguars push their first-half lead to as many as 13 points with 8:49, 4:35 and 3:20 to go in the opening period.
• Flames Close Gap: The visitors trailed by 13 once again with 2:57 to go in the first half before Michael Diggins stepped up and canned a 3-pointer that sparked a 10-4 UIC run to close the half. Marcus Ottey and Tai Odiase combined for the other seven points with Ottey's floater with less than four seconds to go helping the Flames go into the locker room down by only seven, 41-34.

 Second Half Headlines

• Dunk This, Not That: Odiase and Ottey teamed up for one of the game's most memorable sequences in the early moments of the second half. Odiase, one of the nation's most effective shot blockers, rose up and stuffed Evan Hall's dunk attempt. Ottey got the rebound and pushed it coast-to-coast before finishing with authority and a flush of his own at the other end that made it a five-point game with 1:06 gone by in the period.
• Pressure's On: UIC employed more full-court pressure to open the second half and the decision pair big dividends. Trailing by nine with 14:54 remaining, UIC caused four turnovers over a span of just over six minutes to pull within a point on a Dikembe Dixson dunk off a feed from Tarkus Ferguson with 6:49 to go.
• Chip Away: The Flames continued to chip away and finally grabbed their first lead of the night with 4:47 to go. Ottey registered another of his three steals and was fouled. He converted both attempts from the free throw line to give UIC a 56-55 advantage. The visitors would never again trail.
• Fine Finish: IUPUI was within a point with 1:33 to go, but a six-point run that featured another bucket from Ottey and two free throws from both Odiase and Godwin Boahen made it a seven-point game with less than 40 seconds left on the clock. The Jaguars were down just three on multiple occasions down the stretch, but Ottey and Boahen each went 2-of-2 at critical junctures to seal a 70-65 triumph.

Highlights



Notables

• UIC has held the opposition below its season average in field goal percentage in all three Horizon League games this season. IUPUI entered the night shooting 41.9 percent from the floor, but shot 40 percent (24-of-60) Thursday. In the second half, the Flames' full-court pressure and swarming style held the Jags to 29.2 percent (7-of-24) with 12 turnovers.
• The Jaguars led for 31:52 and the game was tied for 3:35. The contest featured only four ties and one lead change.
• The Flames attempted a season-low nine 3-pointers Thursday. UIC made only two shots from downtown with Michael Diggins and Tarkus Ferguson connecting from long distance.
• UIC crushed IUPUI from the free throw line. The Flames got to the stripe 12 more times than the opposition and made 76.5 percent (26-of-34) of their free throws. It was the second time this season that UIC made a season-high 26 free throws (Trinity Christian). IUPUI shot 59.1 percent from the line in defeat.
• UIC's 70 points marked its high output for an Horizon League game this season.
• The Flames won on the road for the first time since Feb. 17, 2016 at Detroit Mercy. The victory snapped an 11-game skid in true road games. UIC did win one neutral court game in that time, a victory over Green Bay in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Championship at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
• UIC trailed for the ninth time this season at the half, but the resilient Flames won for the first time this season when down at the break by erasing the seven-point deficit.
• By scoring UIC's first four points Thursday, sophomore Dikembe Dixson became the 22^nd player in program history to reach 1,000 for his career. He finished tied for game-high honors with 19 points and moved up to 21^st on the list with 1,016 career points. The contest against the Jaguars was the 56^th in a UIC uniform for the Matewan, W. Va., native.
• Tai Odiase blocked a game-high four shots and now owns 297 in a UIC uniform. He has blocked at least four shots six times in 16 games and is closing in on the Horizon League record, 309, which belongs to former Youngstown State Penguin Damian Eargle.
• After missing UIC's last nine games with an injury Ferguson returned to the starting lineup at IUPUI. The Belleville, Ill., native has started all 43 games of his career in a Flames uniform.

Postgame Reaction



Up Next

• UIC will be off from competition for the next five days before beginning a busy stretch that will feature five games over an 11-day span.
• The Flames will host Green Bay in the Horizon League home opener to begin a three-game homestand on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. CT.