Dec. 6, 2007

Box Score |  Notes

CHICAGO - Josh Mayo scored 29 points and the University of Illinois at Chicago shot 60.3 percent from the field on its way to a 91-73 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Thursday night at the UIC Pavilion.

The Flames (4-4, 1-0 Horizon) took control of the game with a 19-4 burst midway through the first half.

Torre Johnson scored a collegiate-best 30 points to lead Milwaukee (3-5, 0-1), which also allowed UIC to make 13-of-20 from beyond the arc.

"If you can't defend you can't play basketball," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "You can't win games if you can't defend."

After a solid first nine minutes by the Panthers, the Flames took control. UIC turned a 17-10 Milwaukee lead into a 29-21 edge of its own during a five-minute burst. The run saw UIC take the lead for good at 22-21 at the eight-minute mark and move that edge to eight points on a Spencer Stewart three with 6:31 remaining. The Flames extended their edge to 41-30 with two minutes left and led 44-32 at the half.

Milwaukee did pull within nine early in the second half but the Flames quickly put the game away by building a 60-42 lead with just under 15 minutes remaining. UWM never got the lead back under double digits after that.

Johnson was the only UWM player in double figures, with Deonte Roberts and Ricky Franklin contributing nine points apiece. The Panthers shot 43.5 percent from the field and did grab 16 offensive rebounds.

Robert Kreps added 14 points and Scott Vandermeer 10 for UIC, which led by as many as 21 points in the second half.

UWM wraps up its first weekend of Horizon League play with a Saturday night contest at Loyola. The game tips off at 7 p.m. CST and will be televised live on Time Warner Sports, ESPN Full Court and ESPN360.com.