UIC Races past Saginaw Valley State in Thursday Men's Hoops Action

Dec. 24, 2004

UIC 79, Saginaw Valley State 47


CHICAGO-UIC left no doubt on Thursday night as the Flames, behind a game-high 16 points from sophomore forward Jovan Stefanov, rebounded from Tuesday's loss to Division II UW-Parkside with a 80-47 non-conference victory over Saginaw Valley State at the UIC Pavilion. The Flames, who snapped a three-game losing streak, also received 15 points apiece from Cedrick Banks and Justin Bowen, who chipped in a career-high, 11 rebounds. With the victory, UIC improves to 4-6 on the campaign, while the Cardinals drop to 5-6 overall. For the game, UIC shot a season-best 54 percent (27-for-50) and dominated the glass, claiming 41 caroms to Saginaw Valley State's 21.
Box Score

Eastern Michigan 89, Cleveland State 76


YPSILANTI, Mich.-Cleveland State led by as many as 11 in the second half, but could not hold off a charging Eastern Michigan team as the Viking fell, 89-76, Thursday night in Ypsilanti, Mich. EMU (7-2) was aided by a 23-point advantage from the free throw line in sending CSU (3-4) to its fourth-straight defeat. The Vikings came out for the second half with a 38-37 lead and used a 12-2 run in the early minutes to jump ahead to their biggest lead of the night at 50-39. Eastern Michigan cut the advantage to four at 59-55 with 12:51 remaining, but Raheem Moss hit a pull-up jumper and Victor Morris nailed an additional basket to build the CSU lead to eight at 64-56 with 11:08 left. EMU came right back as the Eagles used a 15-6 run over the next four minutes to take the lead for good at 70-68. Morris became the fifth player to lead the Vikings in scoring this season, notching a career-high 18, while Omari Westley (13), Patrick Tatham (12) and Moss (10) recorded double-digit point totals.
Box Score

Chicago State 62, Detroit 47


CHICAGO-An 11-point, 11-rebound performance from Torvoris Baker led Detroit (3-7), but in the end the Titans couldn't overcome a pesky Chicago State (1-7) squad as the Cougars posted their initial victory of the campaign following a 62-47 decision on Thursday evening in Chicago. Detroit was seemingly done in by its own mistakes as Chicago State turned 20 Titan turnovers into 25 points to just eight for the Red, White and Blue. UDM owned the boards on the evening as it held a 37-27 advantage and turned those caroms into 30 points in the paint. The Cougars connected on 52 percent of their attempts in the initial 20 minutes and jumped out to a 37-27 advantage. Chicago State then outscored Detroit in the final stanza, 25-20, to record its first win of the season. Brandon Cotton followed up his 27-point Titan debut with a team-best 12 points, while Muhammad Abdur-Rahim tallied nine. CSU was led by a 20-point performance from Tony Weeden.
Box Score