Chicago, IL –In a last second thriller, the Green Bay Phoenix were able to hold off the UIC Flames 81-80, Thursday night at the UIC Pavilion. With one second left, junior guard Turner Botz (8 points) knocked down two free throws that sealed the two point victory for the Phoenix.
Green Bay was led throughout the game by senior Jordan Fouse, and sophomore Khalil Small. Fouse is a skilled 6’7 guard who really knows how to play the game. Whether it was scoring, play making, defending, or rebounding, he made it happen for the Phoenix. Although not a great athlete, he made up for it with his IQ and controlled pace. Fouse finished the game with 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five blocks, and one steal. Green Bay’ other key contributor, Small, is a 6’3 combo guard. Small is a strong, aggressive guard that plays both ends of the floor. He showed his ability to score at all three levels on the court, while guarding UIC’s floor general (Paris Burns) the majority of the game. He was able to use his frame and physicality to create space and get to the rim. Small finished the game with a team leading 15 points and six rebounds. The Phoenix were also aided by 6’1 senior point guard Carrington Love. Love showed the ability to create for himself and others with his penetration skills. He uses crafty change of direction moves to get by his defenders and wreak havoc in the paint for UIC. Love finished the game with 12 points and four assists.
Dikembe Dixson
UIC was led by freshman sensation Dikembe Dixson. Dixson is a long 6’7 small forward who can really score. He used his size and length to get to the basket in very few strides and also to get good looks off pull up jump shots. Dixson has a decent handle and gets good lift on his jumps shots, which led to a lot of easy buckets. He by far showed the most upside on the court. Dixson finished the game with 19 points (4-of-5 from the three) and four rebounds. Dixson received help from his two front court teammates, Jake Wiegand and Tai Odiase. Weigand is a 6’8 senior forward who plays extremely hard. He brought high level energy from start to finish of the game. Most of his baskets came from offensive out backs and dishes under the basket. Wiegand finished with a career high 18 points and added eight rebounds. Odiase is a lengthy 6’9 power forward who really protects the basket. His long arms and athleticism led to a game high eight blocks. Although still pretty raw offensively, Odiase was able to display his soft hand and the ability to catch and finished plays around the basket.
UIC welcomes Milwaukee Saturday, January 16th, while Green Bay will travel to Valparaiso this Saturday as well.
This article was written by Keith Smith, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can subscribe to our RSS feed from the upper right corner of our home page, follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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