The University of Illinois-Chicago Flames walked into University of Dayton Arena as 18.5 underdogs, but they found themselves up three points at halftime. Unfortunately for the Flames, the Flyers woke up in the second half, eventually pulling out a 64-57 victory that fell well under the spread.
The Flames were led by senior guard Daniel Barnes, who put up 17 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists, although he did shoot 3-13 from three point range by himself. Senior center Darrin Williams was the rock down low for the Flames, clocking in with 14 points and eight rebounds before fouling out of the game.
It was three point shooting that eventually did the Flames in. Their 17% shooting from downtown wasn't remarkably worse than Dayton's 28%, but UIC shot 23 three pointers (making four) compared to Dayton's seven (making two). The Flames paired that poor three point shooting with an inability to get to the line: Their nine made free throws (on 16 shots) compared to Dayton's 16 (on 26 shots), represents the exact margin of victory.
The Flames, who fell to 4-8 on the season, will host the Detroit Titans on Thursday, Dec. 29.
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