Feb. 16, 2002

Box Score

Chicago, Ill. - Sophomore Cedrick Banks scored all of his team-high 20 points in the second half to spark the University of Illinois at Chicago men's basketball team to a 76-63 Horizon League victory over cross-town rival Loyola on Saturday afternoon in front of a season-best 5,793 at the UIC Pavilion.

The win was UIC's fourth straight and moved the Flames into a fourth-place tie with the Ramblers (14-11, 8-6) in the league with an 8-6 record, 17-11 overall.

Banks, who was 5-of-6 from the field with four three-pointers after intermission, paced a key 17-3 UIC run in the second half, tallying nine points and two assists in the spurt that gave the Flames a 16-point lead, 57-41, with 7:33 remaining.

"That run really energized us," UIC Head Coach Jimmy Collins remarked after the game. "J.P. (Mitchom) got a dunk and Cedrick ran the break for a lay-up to Martell (Bailey).

"In that stretch we took it up another level."

The Flames went to another level on the boards as well, outrebounding the Ramblers 54-41, including gathering 20 offensive boards.

Senior Thor Solverson led the way with a season-high tying 12 while fellow senior Cory Little posted his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 caroms.

Sophomore Martell Bailey (10 points, 8 assists) and Jon-Pierre Mitchom (10 points, 4 rebounds) also had strong outings for UIC.

"They outhustled us and that was the difference," Loyola Head Coach Larry Farmer remarked. "They beat us to all the loose balls and that was the difference today."

UIC's defense held the Ramblers to just 27% shooting from the field while the Flames connected on 38% for the game.

The Flames will look for their fifth-straight win as they head to Dayton, Ohio on Thursday, Feb. 21, to meet up with Wright State at 6:00 p.m. CST.