Dec. 27, 2006

Final Stats |  Quotes |  Notes

CLEVELAND, Ohio - For the second time in as many games, Cleveland State dropped a home game to a team from Chicago after holding a double-digit lead. After dropping a heartbreaker to Chicago State on Dec. 19, Cleveland State lost, 72-62, to league foe UIC on Wednesday night at the Wolstein Center. The loss, which is the Vikings' sixth straight, drops CSU to 5-9 and 0-2 in Horizon League play while the Flames move to 7-8 and 2-0 in league action.

After a jumper by sophomore Renard Fields put the Vikings 50-38 with 12:06 remaining, UIC used a 16-3 to take a 54-53 lead. After two Moss free throws and a jumper by junior Breyohn Watson put Cleveland State up 57-56, UIC answered with baskets on three consecutive possessions to take a 62-58 lead with 2:31 remaining. UIC would put the game away with a 10-4 run built off four Vikings turnovers in the final 75 seconds.

"Tonight was just like the previous games," head coach Gary Waters said. "We led for 34 minutes and lost it. Every game seems to be this way. It's been our M.O.

"I think it's a mental thing. And we're struggling with it. The positive thing is that every team that is pretty good, we can play with. We just have to overcome this."

Moss led all scorers with 27 points, including 19 in the first half, on 8-of-12 shooting, including 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. However, Moss was shaken up and out of the game when UIC made the fatal push.

"In those last five minutes, we couldn't score," Waters said. "Raheem was out and he was the one doing it for us."

No other Viking scored in double figures, with sophomore J'Nathan Bullock second with nine points. Senior Carlos English had 11 assists and six points but shot just 2-of-10 from the floor, Fields had five points.

UIC's Othyus Jeffers notched 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists to offset his game-high nine turnovers. T.J. Gray and added 17 points and Dailey had 9.

The Flames out-rebounded the Vikings, 36-25, and shot 51 percent for the game. CSU shot 42 percent, including 37 percent in the second half, and missed nine free throws.

Both teams traded baskets for most of the first half and UIC led 26-24 with 5:24 left in the first half. Moss gave the Vikings a one-point lead with a three-pointer but Jermaine Dailey answered with a tip-in at the 4:56 mark to give the Flames a 28-27 lead. CSU would dominate the final four minutes of the first half, heading into the locker room riding a 7-0 run that gave the Vikings a 34-28 advantage at the half.

CSU will attempt to end its six-game skid on Saturday, Dec. 30 against NAIA West Virginia Tech. The contest, the nightcap of a men's/women's doubleheadeer, will begin at approximately 5:30 p.m.