Freshman forward Dikembe Dixson and sophomore guard Tai Odiase caused problems all night for Wright State men’s basketball team as UIC defeated the Raiders 64-59 at the UIC Pavilion on Thursday, Feb. 11.
Dixson recorded a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Flames (4-19; 2-10 Horizon) while Odiase collected 18 points with six rebounds and seven blocks.
“I thought Odiase was the best player on the floor,” head coach Billy Donlon said. “Dixon had 26 and he was really, really good. But when you score 60, that had mostly to do with Odiase's ability. I thought he was the most important player on the floor.”
Senior center Michael Karena slammed down a dunk with 1:51 remaining to cut the Raiders deficit to one-point at 59-58, but UIC closed the door with a 5-1 run consisting of all free-throws.
“We were shooting first-side shots instead of getting hockey assists,” senior forward JT Yoho said. “They were playing personnel and giving us threes. We’re usually a good shooting three-point team and tonight we didn’t have it.”
Yoho and Karena each finished with 11 points trailing sophomore guard Mark Alstork who collected a team-high 15 points.
The Flames jumped ahead 8-5 after a jump shot by Lance Whitaker, but a lay-up by senior guard Biggie Minnis gave the game its fourth tie at 11-11 with 12:09 remaining in the half.
The next six minutes were similar to the beginning of the game as the teams went back and forth, leading to another tie at 21 with 6:46 remaining.
After a Dixson three-pointer gave the Flames a 31-30 lead, senior guard Joe Thomasson sank a free-throw for Wright State for the seventh tie of the game at 31-31 with 57 seconds remaining. The Flames lead 33-31 at the break.
Karena sparked a 5-0 run for WSU in the opening 45 seconds of the second half as the Raiders gained a 36-33 advantage before Whitaker sank a 3 for UIC for the ninth tie of the game. The basket sparked a 7-0 run for the Flames over the next 2:38 as they led 43-36 with 16:05 remaining.
The Raiders cut the deficit to two-points 1:20 later, but the Flames responded with a 9-2 run as they lead 52-43 with 10:40 remaining.
After a three-pointer by Benzinger, both teams went scoreless for the next 2:54. Yoho sank a pair of free-throws with 5:55 remaining to cut the deficit to one-point at 53-52 but the Flames responded by gaining five-point leads twice in the next 2:31.
Despite the loss, Wright State (15-11; 9-4 Horizon) remains tied for second place in the Horizon League with Oakland who lost to Milwaukee 93-85 on Thursday. The Raiders have now dropped three straight games on the road for a 2-9 road record on the season.
“Its definitely frustrating,” Yoho said. “We play so well at home and when we go on the road and we just don’t play as well but we have to figure it out.”
“League road games are hard,” Donlon said. “We're trying to figure it out. We've got to play 48 hours from now, so you can't cry over the spilled milk. You've got to try to clean up your mess.”
Wright State will be back in action at Valparaiso on Saturday, Feb. 13 as they take on the first place Crusaders (20-4; 10-1 Horizon) at 8 p.m.
