Feb 7, 2002
Box Score
CHICAGO - UIC scored the final 11 points of the game - capping their run with running, banked-in three-point shot by Martell Bailey at the buzzer - to capture a 73-71 upset win over UWM Thursday night at the Pavilion.
The Panthers led 71-62 with 2:21 remaining following a layup by Justin Lettenberger. But Jonathan Schneiderman ignited the Flames' final run with a three-point shot with 2:02 remaining. Then, following a questionable shot clock violation against UWM, Bailey pulled the Flames with four on a layin with 1:11 remaining. Clay Tucker missed a jumper in the lane with just under a minute remaining and Schneiderman connected on the other end with a contested three, pulling UIC within 71-70 with 42 seconds remaining. The Panthers again came up empty on offense and Bailey rushed the ball upcourt before launching his game-winning shot from about 30 feet out.
The loss drops UWM (13-10, 8-3) into a first-place tie with Butler (21-3, 8-3), which beat Detroit Thursday night. Tucker scored 20, Jason Frederick added 17 and Ronnie Jones tallied 12 to pace the Panthers. UIC (15-11, 6-6) was led by 22 points from Cedrick Banks.
"It was just a great basketball game," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Obviously we were in control in the second half and made a lot of the plays you need to make on the road to win. UIC just made three or four unbelievable shots. We talked about it coming in that they're a very dangerous team."
After a sluggish first half by both teams, the Panthers appeared to take some control of the game with a 10-0 run early in the second half to grab a 47-39 advantage with 15:14 remaining. UIC fought back to grab a four-point lead at 56-52 with 9:51 remaining, but the Panthers launched a 19-6 run to build their nine-point advantage with just over two minutes remaining.
"We put ourselves in position to win the game, and like coach said, they made some big shots at the end," Tucker said. "We stopped attacking in the last two-and-a-half minutes of the ballgame. We stopped doing what gave us the lead."
The Panthers' downfall came from beyond the arc, where UIC connected on 11-of-22 threes for the game, including 9-of-15 in the second half. UWM, meanwhile, made just 6-of-26 from beyond the arc, including just 2-of-12 in the second half.
UWM plays for the third time in six days Saturday night, welcoming Youngstown State to the Klotsche Center. The game tips off at 7 p.m.
