NCAA News Wire
Illinois-Chicago 67, Western Illinois 64
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Feb 2022
Junior forward Jake Wiegand recorded a double-double to lead Illinois-Chicago to a 67-64 victory over visiting Western Illinois on Monday night at UIC Pavilion.
Wiegand had 28 points and 11 rebounds for Illinois-Chicago (1-1). Junior guard Paris Burns added 13 points and five rebounds.
Junior guard J.C. Fuller came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points for Western Illinois (0-2).
The game was closely contested throughout the opening period. Western Illinois took a 15-11 lead on a 3-pointer by Fuller with 12:18 to play in the half, but junior guard Gabe Snider made back-to-back 3-pointers moments later to put Illinois-Chicago up 17-15 with 11:16 to go.
The teams continued to exchange leads until the Flames mounted an 8-0 run to take a 27-22 lead with 6:33 remaining. The Leathernecks rallied to tie the game at 33-33 with 1:48 to play. The Flames reclaimed the lead on a dunk by Wiegand, but sophomore forward Mike Miklusak scored with one second left, sending the teams to the break deadlocked at 35-35.
The game remained close in the second half. Western Illinois went up 43-40 on a 3-pointer by junior guard Jamie Batish and later extended its lead to five, but Illinois-Chicago came back to take a 48-47 lead on two free throws by Burns. The Leathernecks briefly regained the lead, but the Flames staged an 8-1 run to build a 65-58 lead with less than a minute to play.
The Leathernecks rallied one last time, but Batish missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
