Dikembe Dixson scored 20 points and Marcus Ottey added 15 as UIC cruised to a 74-58 victory Wednesday against Chicago State.
After a mostly even opening 18 minutes, UIC (4-3) gained a 42-34 lead at halftime. With 12 minutes remaining in the game, the Flames caught fire with a 12-3 run that doubled their lead to 18 points. They lead by at least 13 points the rest of the way.
Dixson, a 6’7″ sophomore, shot the ball poorly in the first half but came alive after halftime to score 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Ottey, a 6’2″ freshman, also did the bulk of his work in the final 20 minutes, scoring 8 points on 4-of-6 shooting along with two steals.
Sophomore guard Fred Sims Jr. was on fire for Chicago State (2-4) with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting in the first 23 minutes. He picked up his fourth foul with 14:38 remaining, and coach Tracy Dildy subbed him out. He returned with 10 minutes left but could not regain his rhythm, finishing with 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting.
The victory was UIC’s first victory against a fellow Chicago schools since March 2013, when the Flames defeated Chicago State in the CIT. Chicago State has not won against a local school since beating UIC in December 2005, but the Cougars will get shots at Northwestern and DePaul later this month.
