Players and coaches talk incessantly about the value of balanced scoring. Illinois-Chicago and Northwestern vividly demonstrated the concept Saturday night at the UIC Pavilion.
The Flames (9-2) won 90-71 because they had five players who scored between 11 and 21 points, while the Wildcats (5-4) had the game’s leading scorers in Jitim Young with 27 points and Vedran Vukusic with 23.
“Scoring balance is very important,” UIC coach Jimmy Collins said. “We have lots of scorers, and I want all of them shooting the ball. Like Aaron Carr. If I put the handcuffs on him, I’d be a fool.”
Collins was no fool Saturday night. Carr sank 8-of-13 shots, 5-of-8 from three-point range, to pace UIC with 21 points. Right behind him were Cedrick Banks and Armond Williams with 20 apiece and Martell Bailey and Elliott Poole with 11 each.
“Our balance is very important,” Williams said. “Jitim [Young] is a heck of a player, but I think that stretch where he was doing almost all their scoring kind of wore him down.”
Williams referred to the opening nine minutes of the second half when UIC improved its 43-41 halftime lead to 62-49. Young, the 6-foot-2-inch former Gordon Tech star, scored all eight Northwestern points in the stretch. Four Flames shared their team’s 19 points during the span: Carr, Banks, Bailey and Joe Scott.
Bailey, ranked No. 3 in the nation in assists, had 12 Saturday. He took only four shots in the first half but hit two baskets for five points during the decisive 19-8 run to open the second half.
“We want Martell to shoot too,” Collins said. “He has been passing up open shots. We don’t want him fouling out, however, as he did tonight.”
Wildcats coach Bill Carmody didn’t have to be reminded about the value of balanced scoring as he watched that truth played out before his eyes.
Carmody pointed out that Vukusic scored 18 of his 23 points in the first half when the Wildcats were able to keep the score close.
“We had Vedran getting good looks in the first half and Jitim going to the basket in the second half, but that wasn’t enough,” Carmody said. “It’s hard to depend upon just two when your opponent has five players in double figures.”
After Young and Vukusic, Northwestern’s next-highest scorers were Mohamed Hachad, Evan Seacat and Vince Scott with five points apiece.
Bailey’s turnaround jumper from the free-throw line earned the Flames a 43-41 lead after the evenly played first half. The score was tied five times and the lead changed hands 10 times.
Vukusic hit 7-of-9 first-half shots, two from behind the arc and others from close range.
Young scored 12 points for the Wildcats in the first half, half of them on two baskets from three-point range. Williams had 12 points and Banks 11 for the Flames at the break. Banks hit 3-of-6 shots from three-point range.
“We’ve been better balanced all year, but tonight we weren’t,” Carmody said. “Maybe that’s because T.J. Parker (three points) pulled a muscle.”
