Texas A&M
vs Illinois-Chicago
UIC Holds Off Late A&M Rally, 86-82
Dec 20, 2001 | Men's Basketball
December 20, 2001
The Texas A&M men's basketball team nearly erased a 15-point second-half deficit before dropping an 86-82 decision to Illinois-Chicago Thursday in pool play of the Las Vegas Classic at Las Vegas' Valley High School.
Trailing 49-34 with a little over 13 minutes to play, the Aggies (5-5) benefitted from poor free-throw shooting by the Flames (6-3) to make a charge at the lead, but was unable to overcome the deficit. Three late jumpers by Cory Little helped UIC earn the four-point victory.
A&M held an early one-point advantage before a 15-0 run lifted Illinois-Chicago to a 26-12 lead with just under eight minutes to go before halftime.
Bernard King led the Aggies with a game-high 24 points. Michael Gardener and Nick Anderson contributed 17 points apiece.
Jordan Kardos led UIC with 17 points while Cedrick Banks and Armond Little each added 16.
Texas A&M looks for its first win in the tournament when it battles Purdue on Friday at 9:30 p.m. (CST) before closing out action in Vegas in the consolation/championship round on Saturday.
