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BASKETBALL SEASON WRAP-UP

Wednesday, Mar. 10, 1999

FABULOUS FINISH:

Despite a 55-51 loss to #1 Detroit in the quarterfinals of the 1999 Nokia MCC Men's Basketball Tournament, UIC turned in one of its strongest showings of the year. The Flames committed just nine turnovers in the game and beat Detroit to the free throw line and the boards in the first half to take a 26-23 lead to the locker room. In the second half, the two squads continued to battle and after the Titans led by as many as eight, Bryant Notree connected on a three-pointer with 31 seconds left in the game to draw UIC to within two points, 53-51. The senior forward, however, couldn't get his three-pointer just seconds later to drop and Flames were deprived of the upset.

HE'S DONE IT BEFORE AND DID IT AGAIN:

Senior Bryant Notree turned in a strong outing against Detroit at the MCC Tournament and for the 15th time this season led the Flames in scoring with 19 points. With averages of 15.0 ppg and 6.9 rpg, Notree has led UIC in both categories all season long and finished the year as one of two MCC players to rank in the top five in both categories.

NOTREE EARNS ACCOLADES:

Senior Bryant Notree earned All-MCC Second Team honors and was also selected to the MCC All-Newcomer Team following a vote of league coaches, SID's and media it was announced on Feb. 24.

CORY COLLECTS 'EM:

Sophomore Cory Little, who has been hampered this season with asthma problems, certainly hasn't slow getting to the boards against Detroit at the MCC Tournament as he collected a career-high and game-high 10 rebounds. Despite being held scoreless, Little also added a personal-best 6 assists without a single turnover in 32 minutes of action. Little, who's career-high 12 points came against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Feb. 13, finished the year with averages of 3.2 ppg and 3.0 rpg.

TOUGH TO TAKE:

UIC's last three conference tournament losses have come by a a total 6 points. Detroit knocked off the Flames 55-51 at the 1999 Nokia MCC Men's Basketball Tournament while last year, Wright State upset UIC in the first round with a 74-73 win. The year before, in the championship game of the 1997 tournament, Butler squeaked out a 69-68 victory for the tourney title.

POINTS FROM THE POINT:

Jason Ayers, UIC's starting point guard in 23 of 27 games this season, contributed one of his best games of the year against Detroit at the MCC Tournament. The squad's second-leading scorer with 8.1 ppg, Ayers finished the outing with 17 points as he hit 4-of-5 from the field, 1-of-2 from three-point range and all eight attempts at the free throw line. He also handed off 4 assists and collected 1 steal while playing all 40 minutes of the game.

SKID MARK:

The Flames ended the season on an eight-game losing skid, the longest-ever under Jimmy Collins. UIC defeated Loyola, 71-56, at the UIC Pavilion on Jan. 23 and was held winless in the month of February.

NEAR PERFECTION:

UIC was nearly perfect at the free throw line against Detroit at the MCC Tournament as it drained 18-of-19 charity attempts. Jason Ayers hit 8-of-8 at the line, Thor Solverson made 6-of-6 and Bryant Notree was also perfect, sinking 3-of-3. The lone free throw blemish was a 1-for-2 showing by rookie Jon-Pierre Mitchom.

WELCOME BACK:

While being a young squad in '98-99 with eight first-year players on the roster, the Flames look to be in good shape for next year as they lose just three seniors from the squad and welcome back 11 letterwinners. Graduating will be Bryant Notree, Anton Collins and Frank Wade while Jason Ayers, Thor Solverson, Ian Hanavan and Jordan Kardos all return to the starting lineup.

SOLO SCORER:

The Flames had just one player average in double digits for scoring - Bryant Notree, who tallied 15.0 ppg. In its 17 years as an NCAA Division I program, UIC has never had just one player average in double digits. Jason Ayers was the next closest Flame to reaching double figures as he averaged 8.1 ppg.

THE 70's:

The Flames found success this season when scoring 70 or more points, as they were 5-1. UIC picked up victories over Alabama State, Florida International, UNC Wilmington, Cleveland State and Loyola when scoring over 70 points this year. The lone loss, however, came against, Wright State, 100-74, when they visited Chicago on Jan. 4.

SHARING THE SUCCESS:

While Bryant Notree was the only UIC player to score in double figures at 15.0 ppg, the Flames had five other players average 5.0 points or better. Last season, UIC had three players finish as the leading scorer in all but one game. This year, however, six different players led the Flames in scoring as Bryant Notree, Jordan Kardos, Thor Solverson, Jason Ayers, Joel Bullock and Jon-Pierre Mitchom all held high scoring honors this season.

BRYANT ON THE BOARDS:

Bryant Notree has been a warrior on the boards for the Flames all season long and finished the year averaging 6.9 rpg which is second in the MCC. Over the final six games he played in, Notree was exceptionally strong at collecting the caroms as he averaged 7.8 rpg, including 12 against Cleveland State on Feb. 4. A graduate of Simeon High School, Notree grabbed double-figure rebounds five times during the season, including a career-high 16 boards versus Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Jan. 14.

HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES:

UIC's big man, 6-foot-11 Thor Solverson, picked up his offensive contribution in the final five games of the season, averaging 8.0 ppg in the outings, up from his season average of 4.0 ppg. A native of Lake Zurich, Ill., Solverson tallied a personal-best 18 points against Butler on Jan. 11 and scored in double digits five times this year. Versus Detroit at the MCC Tournament, Solverson was one of three UIC players to score in double digits as he tallied 10 points. At the line, in the final 14 games of the season, Solverson was hot at the charity stripe as he hit 30-of-34 (88.2%) to raise his season free throw percentage to 80.3%.

KARDOS CONTRIBUTES:

Redshirt freshman Jordan Kardos returned to the UIC starting lineup in the final two games of the season and finished the year averaging 8.0 ppg as a starter. A 6-foot-2 guard, Kardos scored in double figures nine times this season while leading the Flames in scoring on five occasions. Three times this year, Kardos has reached 20+ points, including a career-high 26 points against Marquette on Dec. 31 and a pair of 23-point games against Wright State on Jan. 4 and Cleveland State on Jan. 7. UIC's third-leading scorer at 7.6 ppg, he's also been one of its most accurate free throw shooters, draining 83.3% at the charity stripe.

THE POINT MEN:

UIC's two starting guards, Jason Ayers and Joel Bullock, have each shared the point guard duties this season and both have compiled more assists than turnovers. Ayers, who started in 23 games, topped the squad with 92 helpers to 64 turnovers while Bullock, a starter in 11 games, had 42 assists to 38 miscues. As a starter, Bullock improved his scoring average from 5.4 ppg for the season to 8.4 ppg. Ayers, the squad's second-highest scorer at 8.1 ppg, tallied 7.8 ppg as a starter.

FREE THROW FUN:

Ian Hanavan, Thor Solverson and Jordan Kardos were all exceptional at the free throw line this season as each finished the year shooting better than 80% at the charity stripe. Hanavan, UIC's top man at the line, hit 85.7% while Kardos drained 83.3% of his free shots and Solverson sank 80.3% at the stripe. Jason Ayers was also a bright spot at the free throw line as he shot 91.4% at the stripe in the last 11 games and 79.3% for the year.

THE SCOOP ON STEVE:

Rookie walk-on Steve Farmer, who earned seven starts this season, was certainly a big bonus to UIC's board game this season. The Flames' third-highest rebounder at 4.0 rpg, Farmer led the team in rebounding six times, including a career-high 11 boards versus Florida International. Against Detroit at the MCC Tournament, Farmer came off the bench to grab 8 rebounds while also blocking three shots. The Michigan City, Ind., native registered two "double-doubles" during the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds versus Montana on Dec. 28 and 12 points and 11 rebounds against Florida International on Dec. 17.

RECORD BREAKING ROOKIE REBOUNDER:

Rookie Ian Hanavan certainly helped out the Flames on the boards this season. Following a career-high 14 rebounds against Detroit on Feb. 6, Hanavan and took over first place in the UIC freshman rebounding record book and finished the year with 131 total rebounds for a 4.9 rpg average. Hanavan passed up Ivan Daniels who grabbed 120 rebounds as a rookie in 1981-82.

NOTREE NUMBERS:

Bryant Notree, with averages of 15.0 ppg and 6.9 rpg, was one of two MCC players to rank among the top five in both of those categories. The University of Illinois transfer led the Flames in scoring 15 times this season, including a career-high 28 points against Cleveland State on Jan. 7, and has scored 20+ points nine times. Additionally, Notree topped the squad in rebounding 13 times with a personal-best 16 boards versus Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Jan. 14. Notree registered five "double-doubles" during the year with his most impressive showing a 27-point, 16-rebound effort versus UWM on Jan. 14.

UIC AND THE EXTRA PERIOD:

Following its 67-62 overtime loss to Butler on Jan. 11, UIC dropped to 11-12 in overtime games since turning a Division I program in 1981-82. The Flames are 9-10 in single overtime, 2-1 in double overtime and 0-1 in triple overtime. At the Pavilion, UIC is 6-6 when going the extra period while it is 2-1 under Jimmy Collins, following the loss to Butler.

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