Dec. 17, 2000

Box Score

UIC head men's basketball coach Jimmy Collins has the good fortune of having a bench that goes eight men deep. That bench was put to the test against South Florida on Sunday as the Bulls' sixth man Altron Jackson came into the game averaging 20 points a game.

South Florida's depth proved to be too much for UIC as the Bulls' bench outscored the Flames 35-11 en route to the 67-51 victory at the UIC Pavilion. That marked UIC's first loss at the UIC Pavilion since Detroit upended the Flames 82-70 in the semifinals of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference championship last season.

Junior guard Jordan Kardos scored a team-high and tied a season-high with 14 points for the Flames (4-5) while teammate Joe Scott added 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore forward Maurice Brown poured in seven points and ripped down 12 rebounds.

Jackson scored a game-high 18 points for South Florida (6-3) while Cedric Smith (16 points) and Chonsey Asbury (12 points) each turned in solid efforts for the Bulls.

"This is one of the most athletic teams we've faced all season," Collins said. "I thought we had prepared ourselves, but I guess there is no way you can be ready for the athleticism that this team brings."

South Florida jumped out to a 42-28 halftime lead as Jackson, Smith and Asbury combined for 33 points in the opening twenty minutes.

UIC, however, started the second half strong as Kardos scored six of his team high 14 points to bring the Flames to within 50-44 with 11:24 left in the second half. South Florida then took control as Jackson scored eight points in the final ten minutes to secure the victory.

"Nobody would attack tonight," Collins said. "We got the ball to our big men, but they didn't shoot very well. We got them some nice lay-ups and tips, but they just didn't score."