On a cold December day, Illinois-Chicago’s Josh Mayo had the hot hand.
The junior guard went on a 32-point spree Saturday as the Flames downed Wisconsin-Green Bay 76-67 for their second straight Horizon League victory at the Pavilion.
“I’m really proud and happy,” UIC coach Jimmy Collins said. “Green Bay runs a very complex offense, and everybody can score. They’re very aggressive, as indicated by the rebounding edge (39-29).
“Our defense was good when we needed it to be good.”
Mayo’s scoring combined with Green Bay’s poor three-point shooting and big negative assist-turnover ratio led to UIC’s victory.
“Out of character,” coach Ted Kowalczyk said, analyzing the 2-of-14 shooting beyond the arc and 15-8 turnover-assist ratio. “Obviously, Josh Mayo was a huge part of the outcome.”
When Kowalczyk went to a zone defense after long-armed defender Terry Evans picked up two quick fouls guarding Mayo, the Flames tore it apart, just as they had done Thursday in routing Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The score seesawed before UIC (5-4, 2-0) scored 10 unanswered points to surge in front 24-14. The Flames maintained their momentum for the rest of the half and took a 37-26 lead at the break on their ninth three-pointer, a Mayo buzzer-beater.
Early in the second half the Phoenix (6-3, 1-1) went to a full-court press and tightened the perimeter defense in half-court situations. But after not getting a free throw in the first half, Green Bay made 19 of 25 in the second.
Thanks primarily to the defense that generated 10 second-half turnovers, Green Bay was able to slash its deficit to 62-57. But UIC made 9 of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.
“When Evans wasn’t on me it was a smaller guy, and the team looked for me and set me up [for three-point shots],” Mayo said. “When he was on me I tried to penetrate more, and [that’s why] I got to the free-throw line eight times.”
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nmilbert@tribune.com
