GAME NOTES: Riding their first three-game win streak of the season, the Flames of Illinois-Chicago try to keep their run alive as they contend against the Green Bay Phoenix in the semifinals of the 36th annual Horizon League Tournament at the ARC on Saturday night.

The sixth-seeded Flames, who won the last of their two conference tournament titles in 2004, now have two victories in this year's event, thanks to a 60-57 triumph over Wright State on Tuesday and a 72-69 victory against third-seeded Oakland last night.

Meanwhile, Green Bay is seeking to get back to the title game for the first time since 1998 when it bowed to Butler in a lopsided 70-51 decision. The Phoenix, seeded second this season, have a record of 16-19 in this event according to their sources, are coming off back-to-back wins to close out the regular season in order to finish with a mark of 12-4 in conference play.

As far as the all-time series between the programs is concerned, Green Bay is on top by a 53-37 margin, thanks to a 72-67 win in the most recent meeting barely over a week ago.

The winner of this meeting will move into the championship round on Tuesday night against the survivor of the Cleveland State/Valparaiso meeting later tonight.

Except for Markese McGuire who tallied only two points in 18 minutes of action, every starter scored in double figures for the Flames during the close call against the Golden Grizzlies last night. Jay Harris, who knocked down a pair of clutch free throws in the final seconds to preserve the win, finished with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists, followed by Marc Brown who moved beyond 1,000 points for his career with 19 on the night. Ahman Fells and Tai Odiase both dropped in 11 points, the latter clearing 11 rebounds and blocking four shots.

For a team that has won a total of just 10 games this season, Harris is the top scorer with 15.0 ppg, hitting free throws at a 90.2 percent clip, but field goals with only 37.8 percent accuracy. In addition to being the top scoring option for the Flames, Harris is also the one who feeds the rest of the team with his 105 assists.

Green Bay is driven by the exploits of Keifer Sykes, the Horizon League's Player of the Year for both 2014 and 2015. A finalist for the 2015 Bob Cousy Award, Sykes has averaged more than 35 minutes per game in league play, producing 19.7 ppg and 4.5 rpg, not to mention pacing the squad with 75 assists, which is four more than Jordan Fouse, the latter being the top rebounder with 7.4 per contest, to go along with 8.4 ppg. Greg Mays and Carrington Love contribute with 15.4 and 10.4 ppg, respectively, but this is a team that begins and ends with Sykes, the only player in the history of the Horizon League to reach 2,000-plus points, 500-plus assists and 400-plus rebounds.

While the Flames have certainly given the fans some thrills in recent days, trying to slow down Sykes and the rest of the Green Bay players who have had plenty of time to relax before heading back to the hardwood would be asking a lot.