GAME NOTES: Off to a 3-0 start on the season, the Kent State Golden Flashes will go for their fourth straight win as they host the Illinois-Chicago Flames in a non-conference clash as part of the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic at the M.A.C. Center.

UIC hasn't been off to as great of a start as its opponent, owning a 1-2 record which includes a Friday loss to Yale, 70-58. The Flames opened the season with a one-point defeat at DePaul, then took down Western Illinois by three points at home before this tournament.

Kent State spent the offseason reloading with transfer talent, and the Golden Flashes may have something this season. The team easily handled Southern Illinois, 74-51, in Friday's tournament-opening victory.

The contest between the two sides Saturday represents the first-ever meeting on the basketball court.

The Flames couldn't get anything going offensively last time out as Yale stomped out a 12-point victory. Jake Wiegand and Paris Burns each scored nine points to lead the team. The first half was completely controlled by the Bulldogs, who shot 57.1 percent from the floor and made 6-of-10 from beyond the 3-point arc. UIC connected on 50 percent of its shots in the first half, but only hit one shot from distance and played poor defense. Wiegand led the team with five rebounds, while guard D'Juan Miller dished out five assists in the defeat.

The poor outing against Yale cut Wiegand's team-leading scoring average down to 17.3 ppg, but the forward is still shooting 47.2 percent from the floor with a team-best 9.3 rpg mark on the glass. Marc Brown and Burns each share a 12.3 ppg scoring average, and round out the team's three double-digit scorers through three contests. The Flames are scoring 65.3 ppg this season, and are allowing opponents to net 68.7 ppg. Collectively, the team is shooting just 39.5 percent from the field.

Kent State enjoyed a wonderful night shooting the ball against Southern Illinois, netting 51 percent of its field goal tries and also hitting 10-of-18 from 3-point distance. Kris Brewer led the Golden Flashes in the contest with 17 points, adding in five assists. Jimmy Hall chipped in with 16 points, Derek Jackson netted 12 and Devareaux Manley came into the game off the bench and scored 10 points. Kent State's lineup is deep with scoring talent, as evidenced by the team's 23 bench points and 24 points in the paint against SIU.

Hall, who is a transfer from Hofstra, leads the team in scoring through three games played with 16.0 ppg on an impressive 61.3 percent shooting. Brewer's 17-point night helped increase his scoring average this season to 12.3 ppg, while Jackson rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10.0 ppg. Hall tops the squad in rebounding, averaging 9.0 rpg and adding five blocked shots to his resume. Brewer has a team-best 13 assists through three starts.

Illinois-Chicago started the season perhaps better than some would have thought with the one-point defeat at DePaul and then a win over Western Illinois. But the Flames will continue to hit a wall if Wiegand can't produce at the ridiculous rate he had been before Friday. Kent State, on the other hand, has a bevy of scorers in its arsenal, and no one particular player has to be the go-to man. The Golden Flashes should overwhelm the Flames on Saturday.