Q101 The Alternative
Q101 (formerly on Chicago radio @ 101.1 FM) The Alternative - Chicago's New Rock Alternative - Everything Alternative - Chicago's Alternative - Gen X - Generation X
Gary Talton (4) finished the game with 16 points.
The Flames began the second half the same way they finished the first half, sluggish. The Flames only managed two baskets within the first four minutes of the half. The Vikings kept finding ways to get open shots and challenge UIC inside the paint. Marlon Mason and Charlie Lee were the starts of the show for Cleveland State tonight.
They combined for 33 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists. Turnovers and missed shots were once again the issue for the Flames. Josh Crittle scored 11 tonight but should have had more as he missed numerous shots. Most of his misses were free throws, the others were easy layups and short jumpers which wouldn’t go.
Not helping matters was the fact that CSU out-rebounded UIC 38-24. Josh Crittle struggled in the box against the undersized Viking players he went up against. The Flames did try to mount a comeback midway through the half. At one point they went on a 15-2 run. But CSU always found a way to stop the Flames momentum.
Foul trouble was also a problem as Crittle and his backup center Will Simonton had three fouls each. Daniel Barnes had four fouls on his own but did managed to finish second in scoring with 14. Barnes and Talton managed to put together quite the effort in the second half. Forward Anthony Kelley also did his best to boost Howard Moore’s squad as he scored seven of his 11 points in the final frame.
But in the end it wasn’t enough as the Vikings did plenty of damage in the first half, and managed to do enough in the second half to stay ahead. The Flames just could not come up with a solution to stop CSU’s jump shot frenzy tonight and their winning streak now ends at three games. CSU wins 77-66
They have now won eight in-a-row at the UIC Pavilion, they are now 11-12 (3-6 Horizon League) on the 2012-2013 season. The Flames fall to 14-9 (5-5 Horizon League) and they now head on the road for the next four games. This will be the most difficult trip of the season for UIC.
They have to go to Valparaiso, Youngstown State, Loyola, and UW-Milwaukee. The Flames are 3-1 against those four teams this season. So hopefully that statistic will give them a little hope as they continue through the month of February. As for Cleveland State, they will get a little bit of home cooking as they welcome Youngstown and Valpo to Northeast Ohio next week.
The Flames still have a chance to get an NCAA Tournament bid, this loss is just one dent in the road. Here is tonight’s box score:
You can follow me anytime on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
The Flames are struggling so far. They are only 4-8 from the free throw line, 10-24 from the field, only 2-7 from three point range, and they’ve committed six turnovers. All of which have lead to points for Cleveland State.
Hayden Humes has been the lone bright spot for UIC, he leads his team with 10 points. Gary Talton has been held in check by CSU’s defense. He’s only scored once tonight and Josh Crittle hasn’t fared much better as he only has five points. He’s also only shot 1-5 from the foul line.
The Vikings have been able to hit wide open shots, apply pressure on defense, and they’ve managed to keep the Flames star players under wraps. UIC will need to come out disciplined in the second half. They need to stop committing turnovers, Gary Talton, Daniel Barnes, and Josh Crittle need to get their motors going, and they need to tighten up on defense.
The Flames may have the size advantage, but CSU has been countering with their speed and quickness. This will be a very interesting second half as the Flames will need to go all out to keep Cleveland State from snapping their three-game winning streak.
Here is the halftime box score:
You can continue to follow me on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
The Flames are on the court for early warm-ups.
The Flames are red hot and they look to continue to burn the competition here at the UIC Pavilion on the West Side tonight. But winning their fourth in-a-row will not be easy. The Cleveland State Vikings have defeated UIC in their last seven trips here to the pavilion.
The good thing is the Flames have the advantage and momentum heading into tonight’s contest. While the Flames have been on the winning track, CSU has lost four consecutive games. Currently the 14-8 Flames are in a three way tie for third place in the Horizon League along with Wright State, and Youngstown State with a conference record of 5-4.
CSU is second to last place with an HL record of 2-6 and are just 10-12 overall. The Flames barely managed to pull of the victory against Wisconsin-Green Bay on Thursday night. Six points in the final minute from UIC center Josh Crittle pushed the Flames past the Phoenix for the 60-57 victory.
Crittle has been a dominant force in the paint for UIC. Even when the Flames lose, Crittle is always battling and leading his team. Of course the fire that keeps this Flames team going is the backcourt combination of Seniors Gary Talton and Daniel Barnes. Talton averages 13 points-per-game while Barnes averages 10 per game.
This week the Flames are one player short and will probably stay that way for the rest of the season. According to the UIC Athletic Department, Freshman center Matt Gorski was dismissed from the team for “A violation of team rules”. When I asked the team about what violation was committed, they refused to elaborate any further.
Another player that has kept UIC competitive recently is Junior forward Hayden Humes. The 6’8″ Valparaiso native has scored 45 points and grabbed 25 rebounds in his last five games combined.
The Flames will need everything they have in their arsenal to keep their winning streak going. Especially since the Vikings have given them fits in the past. Tonight the Flames have the chance to inch themselves closer to the top of the Horizon League.
It will be a fun game to watch. You can follow me during the game on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
The Final Score
Tonight the Ramblers finally snapped their four-game losing streak. But they didn’t do it unscathed. They barley made it out of the Jones Convocation Center in one piece.
Loyola had to make changes to it’s usual game plan from the beginning. They went with a three guard, two forward lineup instead of it’s usual four guard lineup with Ben Averkamp in the middle.
Loyola head coach Porter Moser did this to compete with Chicago State who had the size advantage. The Cougars also had a three guard, two forward lineup. But when you consider that third guard is the 6’7″ Quinton Pippen, with 6”7″ forward Jeremy Robinson, and 6’8″ forward Nick Ross, the Ramblers needed to put more size on the court.
In the first half the Ramblers easily jumped out to a 13-2 lead. But turnovers, and other mistakes, got CSU back into it midway through the half. They also got Ben Averkamp into foul trouble early, he had three fouls by halftime. But the Ramblers hit some clutch shots towards the end of the half to increase their lead.
In the second half, Loyola came out of the gate on a path of destruction. They quickly got on a 9-6 run forcing CSU head coach Tracy Dildy to call a timeout. I guess the Cougars got his message loud and clear because when play resumed, the Cougars got on their own 9-7 run.
It would go back and forth until the middle part of the second half. Loyola would go on another big run, this one would be scored 12-9. From there it looked like Loyola had the game well in hand. Especially since Averkamp {who scored in double figures} managed to keep himself from fouling out of the game.
Loyola had a 56-49 lead with 3:22 left in the game. But the Ramblers would blow it with another round of bad mistakes. Turnovers, bad fouls, mishandling the ball, and even a time violation all worked in favor of CSU.
The Cougars scored off of every single one of Loyola’s mistakes. Chicago State would cut Loyola’s lead to 57-54 with just under a minute left. Both teams would squander every opportunity they had down the stretch. Loyola missed shots that would have put them ahead for good, while CSU kept missing shots that would tie the game.
Quinton Pippen would be the hero of the second half as he finally managed to hit a game-tying three point shot with 30 seconds left. Loyola had the chance to get the go-ahead basket but would turn the ball over after they failed to inbound the ball before getting hit with a five second violation.
Once CSU got the ball back, they turned to their star, Jeremy Robinson to win the game for them. He missed his first shot, got his own rebound, missed another shot, which was luckily rebounded by guard Nate Duhon.
Duhon put up a last-second shot to win the game but it went right off the iron as time expired. In the extra frame, the Ramblers got off to a hot start and never looked back. They managed to stop another last-minute rally attempt by Chicago State to walk out with the 66-63 victory.
Loyola ends a four-game losing streak, while stopping CSU’s two-game win streak after all was said and done. Loyola is now 4-1 against Chicago area teams.
Aside from Ben Averkamp, forward Christian Thomas also got in double figures with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Ramblers guard Jordan Hicks also pitched in 13 points of his own.
For the Cougars, their dynamic duo of Jeremy Robinson and Quinton Pippen combined for 30 points and 7 rebounds in the losing effort.
The Cougars (6-15, 1-1 Great West) will have a week to prepare for their upcoming conference game against Utah Valley on January 26th.
Loyola (11-7, 1-4 Horizon League) resumes conference play with a trip to Cleveland State on Wednesday night.
Here is the box score from tonight’s game:
In the aftermath of tonight’s insanity, I got an exclusive interview with Loyola’s Ben Averkamp:
CSU head coach Tracy Dildy also held a press conference:
I must say that tonight was one of the craziest games I’ve covered so far.
Ben Averkamp (24) has 7 points and 3 fouls.
Loyola’s team captain hasn’t been too effective thus far. Up until the midway point in the first half, Averkamp only had 2 points. He would eventually get benched for the final three minutes of the half after getting into foul trouble early.
But not to fear as Nick Osborne, Christian Thomas, and Jordan Hicks have all done their part to keep the Ramblers ahead. But Chicago State almost came back to tie this game around the eight minute mark.
Missed shots, turnovers, and fouls almost came back to haunt Loyola as the Cougars turned those mistakes into points. Loyola saw a 17-5 lead change to a 27-21 lead within just a few minutes.
At point CSU went on a 10-7 run, but Loyola calmed themselves down, limited their mistakes, and got back on track to finish the half on a 7-5 run. The Cougars are still alive thanks to Jamere Dismukes, Quinton Pippen, and Matt Ross.
Considering that Loyola at one point had a 13-2 lead, the Cougars are in better shape now then they were when the game started. Can the Cougars force Ben Averkamp to foul out of the game?
Can Loyola keep up the momentum that they took into the locker room at halftime? Follow me on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports to find out.
Here is the first half box score:
Both teams are on the court for early warm-ups.
In a rare January non-conference match-up, the Chicago area tonight will be treated to another North Side VS South Side addition of college basketball.
Tonight from the Jones Convocation Center off of 95th and King Drive, the Chicago State Cougars play host to the Loyola Ramblers.
These two programs come into tonight’s contest with very contrasting stories. Although the Cougars are struggling again this season, they have won their last two games.
The 6-14 (1-1 Great West) CSU Cougars have won by an average of 25 points in their last two contests. A 77-53 victory over Illinois-Benedictine , and a 81-56 win over Houston Baptist.
The Cougars have been led by clutch shooting from forwards Jeremy Robinson and Quinton Pippen {Son of Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen}.
Tonight they will have a tough task on their hands as they take on the Ramblers from Rogers Park.
Despite the fact that Porter Moser’s team has lost four in-a-row, the Ramblers are 3-1 against Chicago area teams this season.
Perhaps tonight will be the night that they can break their four game funk and establish themselves as the elite in Chicago hoops this year.
Accomplishing this feat will not be easy, Loyola’s last four games have been lost by seven points or less. Their defense has collapsed in the final seconds of these games, despite the fact that star forward Ben Averkamp has carried this Ramblers squad every step of the way.
Tonight it will be survival of the fittest that decides this one.
You can follow me during the game on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
Both teams shake hands after a hard fought game.
The Flames came out on the fire to start the second half. But missed shots, turnovers, and mistakes on defense would hurt them and ultimately cost them the game.
After leading by as much as nine, the Crusaders began to take advantage of UIC’s mistakes and would eventually extinguish the Flames.
Not helping matters was when Hayden Humes and Josh Crittle both got into foul trouble and spent most of the second half on the bench. Humes eventually fouled out of the game.
Valparaiso took advantage of UIC’s lack of size on the court midway through the half. Gary Talton who led all scorers with 25 points, did everything he could to battle back and keep the Flames alive.
They would come back to tie the game four times down the stretch. But big jump shots in the final minutes, combined with UIC putting Valpo at the free throw line too many times for comfort, the Crusaders scored on all of those opportunities and would prevail in the end.
Ryan Broekhoff led the Crusaders with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Bryce Drew once again takes home a victory over arch-rival UIC, and the Flames drop to 10-6 (1-2 Horizon League). They have now lost five of their last six and they will need to get themselves together if they have any chance of beating Wisconsin-Green Bay the next time they hit the court.
Here is the box score from tonight’s game.
After the game, UIC head coach Howard Moore and team captian Gary Talton spoke with the media:
Gary Talton leads UIC with 8 points.
It’s been a highly contested game so far as I expected. The Flames took a very quick 5-0 lead at the beginning of the game. But then the Flames began to miss shots and commit turnovers.
The Crusaders were able to score points off of those mistakes. At one point Valpo lead by as much as nine, they also began to out-rebound the Flames.
They also managed to use UIC’s size against them by sneaking players into the paint behind UIC big men Josh Crittle, Hayden Humes, and Will Simonton.
With just under seven minutes left, Gary Talton and Daniel Barnes took over and brought the Flames back into the game. They tied the game at 24 with three minutes remaining before halftime.
It would go back and forth from there until Valparaiso forward Ryan Broekhoff hit a three at the buzzer to take a 33-30 lead at the half. The Flames will need Talton and Barnes to keep up this pace if they are to win this game.
They will also need a better effort from the boys up front. They also need to tighten up on defense. The second half will be very interesting.
Fans are beginning to file into the UIC Pavilion on Chicago’s Near West Side tonight as the Illinois-Chicago Flames play host to long-time nemesis Valparaiso.
The Flames come into this one losing four out of their last five. At the moment they are 10-5 (1-1 Horizon League), and they are not looking to repeat the same mistakes of the past.
UIC is lead by Senior guards Gary Talton and Daniel Barnes. They have been the back bone for this Flames team all season. Head coach Howard Moore is trying to bring a winning culture back to UIC. A win over the Crusaders tonight will push them in that direction.
The only problem is that playing Valpo is never easy. In 2013, the Crusaders are still led by the Drew Family Dynasty. Former Crusaders and Chicago Bulls point guard Bryce Drew has been the coach for the last couple seasons.
His father Homer Drew was Valpo’s coach for many years followed by Bryce’s older brother Scott. But now Bryce is now in control of a basketball program that put Northwest Indiana on the map.
The Crusaders sport an 11-5 overall record but just like the Flames they are 1-1 in Horizon League play. This will be a hard fought game from start to finish.
The keys to victory for UIC are simple:
1. Prevent Valpo from hitting too many outside jump shots.
2. Get Gary Talton and Daniel Barnes started early and scoring often.
3. Use their size advantage to dominate the Crusaders in the paint.
4. Don’t make the same mistakes that have caused their last five losses.
If the Flames can stick to these keys they will pick up their second conference victory.
The Penguins celebrate their upset victory over the Ramblers.
Loyola initially started the second half right where the left off in the first half. But halfway through they hit a snag and it cost them dearly.
Star forward Ben Averkamp got into foul trouble early, Loyola’s defense had difficulty defending the outside shot, and they missed key shots down the stretch.
The Ramblers had led by 14 midway through the second half, and that’s when the trouble began. YSU outscored LU 38-31 in the second half.
They also shot over 50 percent from the field, scored 10 points off of Loyola turnovers, and took advantage of a nearly three minute stretch where Ben Averkamp wasn’t on the court because of the foul trouble.
Many of those foul calls were questionable. Especially when Averkamp was getting pulverized inside the paint and no calls were made. The Rambler nation was not happy with the officials when this one was said and done.
The Penguins hit key shots when they needed to and in the end, Loyola couldn’t keep up. Ben Averkamp had a chance to tie the game with free throws just under the two minute mark but he missed them both.
Loyola also got the benefit of a foul call with one second remaining but they couldn’t turn that into points which could have sent the game into overtime.
The end result is a 68-66 loss. The Ramblers now drop to 10-4 (1-1 Horizon League), Youngstown State moves up to 9-6 (1-1 Horizon League).
Loyola’s four-game winning streak comes to an end, and they are now 6-2 at the Gentile Center. Here is the box score from today’s game:
After the game Loyola guard Joe Crisman and forward Ben Averkamp spoke with the media:
Head coach Porter Moser also held a press conference:
There are currently no events to display.