Dec. 14, 2010

 

Final Stats

Final Box Score

NIU 80, UIC 78 Convocation Center | DeKalb

1st 2nd Final  Northern Illinois 29 51 80  Illinois-Chicago 33 45 78 Box Score | Box Score Attendance: 779  Player of the Game Xavier Silas Points: 40 Rebounds: 6 Assists: 3 FG: 8-18 (.444)  Team Stats NIU OPP  FG Percentage 39.1 48.2  3-Point FG Percentage 45.5 33.3  FT Percentage 76.5 60.7  Offensive Rebounds 16 13  Defensive Rebounds 23 21  Total Rebounds 39 34  Assists 8 9  Turnovers 15 16  Blocks 4 1  Steals 4 5  Points in the Paint 14 28  Points off Turnovers 19 14  Men's Basketball Quick Links · 2010-11 Schedule/Results · 2010-11 Statistics · Head Coach Ricardo Patton

 

DEKALB, Ill. -- Senior guard Xavier Silas scored a NIU Convocation Center record 40 points as the Northern Illinois men's basketball team earned an 80-78 victory over UIC on Tuesday night. Silas' career-best 40 points included a school-record-tying 22 points from the free-throw line.

NIU overcame a 13-point first half deficit to improve its record to 2-3. Junior forward Lee Fisher added seven points and a season-high nine rebounds

"It was a hard-fought game, our guys really showed some poise to come back after being down," said NIU head coach Ricardo Patton. "There could have been a feeling of `here we go again,' but our guys continued to battle. They did a nice job in the second half and when we took the lead we were able to keep the lead."

NIU shot 52.2 percent (12-of-23) in the second half after shooting just 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from the field in the first half. The Huskies made a Convocation Center record with 39 free throws made on 51 attempts (76.5 percent) in the contest.

"Early on I thought Xavier (Silas) took some tough shots, some shots from too deep, rather than letting the offense come to him," said Patton. "Going into the game I didn't think they could guard him, particularly going to the basket. He started to not settle for the jump shot, he started attacking the basket and that is when he found success."

UIC opened second half with a 7-2 burst to push its advantage to nine, 40-31.

The Flames lead grew to 46-35 until Silas fueled a charge by the Huskies, scoring 12-of-14 points to help pull NIU within a pair, 51-49, with 11:16 remaining.

After a basket by UIC, freshman guard Aksel Bolin buried a triple from the corner to cut the Flames lead to just one. Bolin's trifecta ignited a 13-0 by Northern Illinois that gave the Huskies a 62-53 lead with 5:33 to play. Following Bolin's three, the next eight points in the run all came from the free-throw line before Silas capped the run with a mid-range jumper.

NIU held UIC scoreless for over five minutes during the stretch.

The Flames chipped away at the NIU lead, cutting the advantage to just four with 20 seconds to play. Silas made a pair of free throws before Corey Gary made a short jumper for UIC to bring the lead back down to four.

After another free throw by Silas, UIC made a pair from the line to cut the Huskie lead to just three with nine seconds to play.

The teams exchanged two more points before Silas capped his night with two more from the charity stripe and Gray hit a three for the Flames just before the buzzer as NIU earned the two-point win.

Darrin Williams led five UIC players in double-figures with 16 points. Paul Carter and Robo Kreps each added 14, Zavion Neely had 12 and Paris Carter finished with 10 points for the Flames.

UIC jumped out to a 13-2 lead 16:14 into the contest, forcing a Northern Illinois timeout. The Flames opened the game 3-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc.

After another basket by UIC, junior forward Tim Toler connected on a triple from the top of the key followed by a jumper in the paint to trim the UIC lead back to single-digits, 15-7.

An 8-4 burst gave UIC a 23-11 advantage with 8:31 left in the first half before Northern Illinois went on an 8-1 run to cut the Flames lead to just five. All eight points for the Huskies during the spurt came from the free-throw line.

The Flames and Huskies traded a pair of baskets before sophomore guard Tony Nixon connected on a triple from the wing to cut the UIC lead to just a pair, 26-24, with 3:14 remaining before the intermission.

UIC still led by two until Kreps hit a jumper from the elbow 12 seconds before the break to give the Flames a 33-29 halftime lead.

Silas led all scorers with 12 points in the opening 20 minutes, including a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line; Neely had eight points to lead UIC in the first half.

The Huskies will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 28, when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to take on Temple. Game time against the Owls is slated for 1 p.m. (CT).