CBI run concludes at Coastal Carolina

Tai Odiase shoots a free throw. The Flames won two postseason games this season.

UIC shot the ball well, connecting at a clip of 50 percent from the field, but the Flames did not have enough firepower to top the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers March 22 in the semifinal of the College Basketball Invitational presented by FIVE FOUR. The Flames fell, 89-78, at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina.

UIC’s Tarkus Ferguson scored a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers and four Flames in double figures. Marcus Ottey netted 11 points by making all four of his field-goal attempts, while Tai Odiase and Dominique Matthews chipped in with 10 points each.

This season, UIC made history with two postseason tournament wins in the same season for the first time in program history. The Flames entered the 2017 College Basketball Invitational with only one all-time win in postseason play in program history.

UIC hauled in a program-record 1,426 rebounds this season, shattering the old mark by 191 rebounds.The squad also blocked a program-best 184 shots, 22 more than the previous high.

This season, UIC more than tripled its win total from one season to the next for the first time in the program’s Division I history.