NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Josh Mayo made eight 3-pointers and scored 30 points as Illinois-Chicago defeated Vanderbilt 74-55 on Wednesday night.
“Mayo can shoot the ball,” said UIC coach Jimmy Collins. “Everybody talks about the guys who are shooting from the main conferences and they just overlook Josh Mayo. Everybody saw in this building that he’s a tremendous player as well as a tremendous shooter.”
Mayo’s big night from beyond the arc was the most 3-pointers ever by a visiting player at Memorial Gymnasium, and one short of the Flames’ (4-2) single-game record. The Horizon League’s preseason player of the year made two 3-pointers in an 11-0 first-half run that broke an 18-18 tie and put the Flames ahead to stay. Mayo was 5-for-5 on 3-point shots in the second half.
“We were severely outplayed, outfought, and out-hustled tonight,” said Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings. “It was a very disappointing and embarrassing performance.”
“It was a combination of our lack of shooting and their great defense,” added Vanderbilt center A.J. Ogilvy, who tied with Jeffery Taylor for a team-high 14 points on the night. “We didn’t have the defensive effort required to keep their score to a minimum. We just didn’t play well enough to win. That’s what it comes down to.”
Robo Kreps added 23 points, including three 3-pointers, as the Flames won their third straight game.
Overall, the Flames made 12 of 19 (63.2 percent) 3-point attempts. Vanderbilt (5-2) was 4-for-24 (16.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
“Our players and our coaching staff certainly know what we just did, coming into Nashville and beating an SEC team like Vanderbilt,” added Collins. “Our guys can build off of that. Their confidence level should go up from this victory.”
