Men’s basketball loses heartbreaker in season opener

A last-minute shot by Hayden Humes yielded no result against Drake Saturday. Photo: Steve Woltmann

The men’s basketball team returns to action tonight at 7 p.m., hosting Roosevelt at the UIC Pavilion.

The Flames (0-1) lost a heartbreaker Saturday night against Drake, 61-59, in front of 5,245 fans at the Pavilion.

UIC struggled to contain Bulldog guard Richard Carter, who put up a career-high 38 points, including 24 in the second half.

Senior Hayden Humes’ attempt at a last-second finger roll rimmed in and out as the final horn sounded. UIC was paced by junior Marc Brown with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while dishing out five assists.

“The basketball gods said we didn’t deserve the win tonight,” said UIC Head Coach Howard Moore.

“To be honest, we shouldn’t let the game come down to one final play like that.  Carter has great quickness, but we let him get to the rim way too many times and he stayed in attack mode.

“We’re not where we need to be and tonight was a wakeup call.”

Kelsey Barlow performed well in his Flames’ debut with 11 points, seven assists and three steals.