Illinois-Chicago needed to set the place on fire Saturday, but someone left the lighter fuel at home.
Although the Flames’ big three-point shooters scored at their usual pace, interim coach Mark Coomes could turn nowhere else for scoring help when it was needed most as Detroit took a 66-54 victory at the UIC Pavilion.
It was the second straight Horizon League defeat for the Flames (9-11, 4-3). Two long stretches without a basket, combined with the Titans’ 40-25 domination on the boards, sealed the decision.
“It raises a big red flag,” Coomes said, praising Detroit’s “physicality and aggressiveness.”
The Flames’ trio of forward Othyus Jeffers (15 points) and guards Josh Mayo (15) and T.J. Gray (12) were the only UIC players to score more than three points, and even they did not come riding to the rescue at crucial times.
UIC led 13-12 but went more than six minutes without scoring late in the first half. Then, when the Flames rallied to take a 46-44 lead with 11:46 to play, they thought they might be in business.
“I was definitely worried,” Detroit coach Perry Watson said.
Mayo thought it foretold good things.
“[But] they came back and stopped the run just like that,” he said. “The momentum shifted to them.”
With 6-foot guard Brandon Cotton (22 points) handling the outside shooting and Ryvon Covile (12 rebounds) controlling the inside, Detroit regained the upper hand.
“They needed a good run,” Cotton said. “But we picked the intensity up and started defending better. We kind of had to bring our hard hats [inside], and we just buckled down.”
The Titans again kept the Flames scoreless for six minutes. During that spell, Detroit (6-12, 3-4) went on a 19-2 spurt. Normally, Mayo and Gray are deadly from three-point range, but during Detroit’s run they went cold.
“I just tell him to keep shooting,” Mayo said of Gray. “He tells me the same thing.”
Coomes did not fault the shot selection, but he could not find a hot hand.
“We had some really good looks,” he said.
UIC, however, did not have much luck. Guard Spencer Stewart limped off and was scheduled for an X-ray for a possible crack in his left fibula. That would leave plenty of seats available on the UIC bench that has been thinned by the departure of three players and two coaches for a variety of reasons. Also, center Scott VanderMeer (four blocks) was in foul trouble that some felt was undeserved.
“I was at the top of the coaching box many times, trying to plead my case and get some attention,” Coomes said. “But the truth of the matter is they outfought us.”
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lfreedman@tribune.com
