March 20, 2017
After a night of plenty of basketball on Wednesday, the First Round of the CBI presented by FIVE FOUR came to a close on Thursday with UIC withstanding a furious Stony Brook comeback before clinging on to a 71-69 victory.
Up 35-32 at the half, UIC increased its lead to a game-high 19 points, 65-46, with 5:00 to play. At that point, Stony Brook came to life. The Seawolves went on a 10-0 run over the next 3:19 as Akwasi Yeboah scored six points and Tyrell Sturdivant netted four points.
After a Clint Robinson dunk at 1:28 ended the run and gave the Flames a 67-56 lead, Stony Brook proceeded to go on a 7-0 run, with Bryan Sekunda scoring five of those points to make it 67-63. Two free throws by K.J. Santos with 27 seconds remaining put UIC up 70-65 to ice the game.
Dominique Matthews led UIC with 21 points to go along with five rebounds. Robinson posted 11 points and six boards and Godwin Boahen had nine points, five rebounds, and five assists. Tai Odiase also had nine points and five assists and Tarkus Ferguson recorded eight points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists.
The Seawolves were led by Yeboah and his 15 points and nine rebounds. Sekunda tallied 12 points, Sturdivant had 11 points, and UC Iroegbu also had 11 points.
With UIC’s win, the matchups for the Monday’s Quarterfinal Round are complete. On Monday, UIC will be back home to entertain George Washington, Coastal Carolina will host Loyola Maryland, UMKC is at Wyoming, and Rice is home to Utah Valley.
Below is a recap of Wednesday night’s First Round action:
In Washington, D.C., Tyler Cavanaugh scored 27 points and George Washington withstood a tremendous road game from Toledo before earning a 73-69 win.
Cavanaugh was 10-of-15 from the field, including 5-of-8 from three, as well as 4-of-4 from the foul line. He also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Patrick Steeves added 17 points to the Colonials’ cause.
In Conway, S.C., Jaylen Shaw scored 22 points and Demario Beck added 21 as Coastal Carolina pulled away late for an 83-67 win over Hampton.
The game was much closer than the final score as Coastal hit 11 of its final 12 field goals over the last 6:17 to turn a 58-57 lead into the final 83-67 score, outscoring the visitors 25-10.
In Fairfax, Va., Loyola Maryland held George Mason to a season-low 33.3 percent shooting from the field in garnering a 73-58 win.
Four Greyhounds scored in double digits, led by Cam Gregory and his 16 points. He also had a team-best eight rebounds. Jarred Jones and James Fives netted 14 points apiece and Chuck Champion scored 11 points.
In Statesboro, Ga., Utah Valley placed four scorers in double figures and held Georgia Southern to 29 percent shooting en route to a 74-49 triumph, the first postseason win in the Division I history of the Wolverines.
Jordan Poydras tallied 12 points and six assists, and Brandon Randolph also scored 12 points. Connor Toolson chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds, and Zach Nelson scored 12.
In Kansas City, LaVell Boyd scored 28 points and UMKC went 13-of-23 from three in taking a 92-82 decision from Green Bay. The win was the first-ever Division I postseason victory for the Kangaroos.
In all, five Kangaroos netted double figures, including Kyle Steward (20), Darnell Tillman, (11), Isaiah Ross (11), and Broderick Newbill (10). Boyd and Tillman also pulled down seven rebounds apiece.
In Houston, Marcus Evans scored 12 of Rice’s final 15 points as the Owls closed the game on a 15-4 run to defeat San Francisco 85-76. With 23 wins on the season, the Owls are tied for the second-most in school history and the most since 1953-54.
Egor Koulechov recorded his 13th double-double of the year with game-highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds. Evans ended with 21 points and Chad Lott had 10.
And in Laramie, Wyoming recorded its best shooting game of the season with season-highs from the field and behind the arc in a 91-81 win over Eastern Washington.
The Cowboys were 35-of-60 from the field for 58 percent and 11-of-18 from behind the arc for 61 percent. Five Pokes scored in double digits as Justin James led UW with 19 points, Hayden Dalton added 18 points, Louis Adams had 16 points, Alan Herndon poured in 12 points, and Cody Kelley had 10 points.
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