Vandermeer (10 offensive boards) too much for Loyola

Scott Vandermeer knows exactly how he's going to spend his Sunday - the last prep day for UIC's final exams.

"I'm going to get a massage," said the Flames' 7-foot senior. "Ice packs. Some Wii bowling. My legs were shot today. I'll get them back tomorrow."

VanderMeer's leg problems were news to Loyola.

Blessed with a massive size advantage over the Ramblers' short-handed frontcourt, Vandermeer piled up 18 points and 14 rebounds to boost UIC to an 83-69 victory in an entertaining Horizon League opener at the Pavilion.

The Flames (5-2, 1-0) led by just 6 points with 1:12 to go, but they hit their last 8 free throws to pull away for their fourth straight win.

Senior guard Josh Mayo led UIC with 20 points, but the Ramblers (4-5, 0-1) knew who enabled the Flames to win this intracity affair for the sixth time in seven tries.

On four occasions when the game was still tight, Vandermeer played catch with himself on the offensive glass until he tipped in his own miss.

He finished with 10 offensive boards as UIC's 14-point advantage in second-chance points matched the game's final margin.

"We all know how great of a player (Mayo) is," said Loyola coach Jim Whitesell, "but I thought Vandermeer was certainly the difference-maker. He kept the ball alive a lot and we just couldn't solve that."

When Loyola had answers, senior guard Justin Cerasoli supplied them. He buried a half-court shot at the halftime buzzer to trigger a big comeback.

The 6-foot-5 West Aurora graduate finished with a career-high 24 points to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks of Vandermeer shots.

When Cerasoli swished a 15-foot pullup in transition with 3:18 to go, he pulled the Ramblers within 67-63. But he never took another shot.

"That's one thing that we addressed with our team," Whitesell said. "You've got to find people that are open."