UIC hit the road for the inaugural Boardwalk Battle in Daytona Beach, Florida, last week. The Flames ended the weekend 1-2, falling to James Madison (81-99) and East Carolina (55-72), and defeating La Salle (96-93).
A losing record in Daytona Beach comes after a hot start to the season, with the Flames previously securing wins over St. Francis (Ill.), Yale and Saint Mary’s (Minn.).
The Flames kicked off the first annual Boardwalk Battle against James Madison. Ahmad Henderson II gave a standout performance across 32 minutes. The sophomore guard had 17 points, shooting just under 50%. Junior Javon Jackson recorded his first single-digit game of the season, contributing nine points and a surprising zero rebounds. Jackson earned the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week after UIC’s first two games against St. Francis and Yale when he averaged 17 points per game.
East Carolina handed the Flames another loss in their final tournament appearance. UIC fell behind in the second after a tight first half (27-30). Ahmad Henderson II and Sasa Ciani recorded 10 points each, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Pirates’ dominant offense. A 55-72 loss marks the Flames’ lowest-scoring game of the season.
Head coach Rob Ehsan called it a “disappointing loss for our team,” noting that the team “has a lot to work on, as it’s still really early in the season” in a post-game video posted on the team’s official X account.
UIC ended with one win at the Boardwalk Battle, re-igniting a decades-old rivalry with La Salle. Ciani recorded his second-ever career double-double, and Henderson repeated his perfect free-throw percentage from the weekend’s first game, shooting 8 for 8 against the Explorers. Senior forward Filip Skobalj contributed heavily to the Flames’ singular victory, dotting down 19 points, two rebounds and three assists across 29 minutes. The Belgrade, Serbia, native struggled behind the 3-point line earlier in the season but looks promising with the ball in hand as the Flames draw nearer to conference competition.
The Flames continue their non-conference season at home against Aurora (Ill.) on Saturday.
