Illinois-Chicago advances to CIT title game, tops Liberty

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Tarkus Ferguson scored 16 points and Illinois-Chicago beat Liberty 67-51 on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the CIT.

UIC closed the first half on an 8-3 run for 28-24 lead and held the first double-digit lead of the game at 40-29 on Godwin Boahen's 3-pointer. Michael Diggins started a 14-0 run with a 3-pointer, Boahen's 3 capped it for a 56-37 advantage and UIC led by at least 14 the rest of the way.

Boahen finished with 13 points, Marcus Ottey had 12 and Tai Odiase 11 for UIC (20-15), which has won nine consecutive road games for the first time in program history.

UIC will play for the title on Friday night against Northern Colorado.

Lovell Cabbil scored 13 points for Liberty (22-15) and Myo Baxter-Bell added 10. Liberty was held to 33 percent shooting, including 5 of 20 from distance.

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