CHICAGO, Ill. – The Green Bay men's basketball team led for a total of 0.5 seconds Tuesday night at UIC, but that was all they needed. After trailing and hanging around all night, the Phoenix got a gamer-winning tip-in from Elijah Jones, who gave the Phoenix the 70-68 lead off of a missed Noah Reynolds' layup with half a second remaining.
Reynolds was key to GB staying in the game, finishing the night with a career-high 31 points in 34 minutes. It's the first time a Green Bay player has scored 30+ points since JayQuan McCloud had 32 against Detroit Mercy on February 21, 2020.
The Phoenix (5-6) had two others in double figures, including a career-high 14 points from freshman David Douglas, Jr., and Jones, who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
UIC was led by a double-double from Toby Okani, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UIC came out of the gates hot, going on a 10-0 run to start the game. Reynolds broke the streak with GB's first basket at 15:38. The junior guard kept the team in it early, scoring Green Bay's first 10 points of the game. The Flames, however, retained a lead during that Reynolds' hot stretch. UIC led 31-20 when the Phoenix went on an 11-3 run late in the half to make the score 34-31 with 1:22 left. GB had the ball with a chance to tie it before halftime, but the Flames Isaiah Rivera came up with a strip and pull up three at the buzzer to give them a 37-31 lead at half.
UIC widened its lead after intermission, constructing a 42-33 advantage before Green Bay went on an 8-0 run to shrink the deficit to 42-41 with 15:52 to go in the contest. The Flames would respond however, and push the lead back out to 10 at 53-43. That lead would stay intact until the game's final four-and-a-half minutes when the Phoenix outscored UIC 15-4 culminated in Jones' made layup that ended the game.
GAME NOTES
» Tuesday night was Jones' second double-double of the season.
» The Phoenix shot well from three point range, knocking down 5-off-11 (45.5 percent) long range attempts.
» The Phoenix held the Flames to only 37.3 percent shooting from the field.
»
Noah Reynolds,
David Douglas Jr., and
Elijah Jones combined to account for 79 percent of the Phoenix points.
» Both teams commit 14 turnovers on the night.
» The Phoenix was active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording six blocks and 10 steals as a team.
» Green Bay shot a season-best 17-for-19 (89.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
» GB outscored UIC in the paint, 38-18.
UP NEXT
Green Bay will stay on the road this week and travel to Oklahoma to take on the No. 11 ranked Sooners at Llyod Noble Center. The Phoenix returns home next Thursday, Dec. 21 to take on MSOE at the Resch Center.
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