SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team returns from just over two weeks off to begin Great Lakes Valley Conference play on the road at UMSL (Jan. 2) and Maryville (Jan. 4). Game times are set for 7:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.

SETTING THE STAGE
UIS looks to rebound from its largest loss of the season against former GLVC foe Kentucky Wesleyan. The Prairie Stars were unable to overcome a quick, athletic team in the Panthers. Mark Weems led all scorers with 17 points and junior Davi Austin pushed his way to a season-best 12 points.

SCOUTING UMSL

• The Tritons suffered their first losses of the season against West Texas A&M (67-59) and Nova Southwestern (82-58) in Florida before the D2 break to move to 8-2. UMSL was out to its best start in program history.
• UMSL is third in the GLVC in 3-point percentage, shooting 39 percent from long range. Brandon Marquardt and Derek Shouse led the team with 17 treys each.
• The Tritons are defeating opponents by more than 15 points per contest.
• UMSL leads Division II in assist-to-turnover ration at 2.17. The team is turning the ball over just 8.1 times per game.

SCOUTING MARYVILLE

• Maryville is off to a 5-4 start after the non-conference season, however the Saints are 4-1 in the comfort of their home crowd.
• Armon Provo tops the team with 17.8 points per game and Trae Pemberton is second with 16.9 points per contest.
• The Saints are coming off a 72-56 win against Westminster on December 20. They will face off with McKendree before facing the Prairie Stars.
• Last season, Maryville took home an 81-67 win at TRAC against UIS. Illinois Springfield held an early lead, but the Saints rattled off 16 straight points to put the game in their favor. Maryville took a 41-27 lead into the break and never looked back.

BEST START
The Prairie Stars are out to their best start in the Division II era with a 6-2 start under first-year coach Bill Walker.

CAREER LEADER
Big man Dylan Sparkman is just two points away from becoming the career leader in overall points in the Divsion II era.

CONFERENCE START
UIS is looking for its first conference victory on the road to start GLVC play. The Prairie Stars are 0-5 when they start league action away from TRAC. UIS is 2-3 in GLVC home starts.

HOLD YOU DOWN
UIS is limiting opponents to just 35 percent shooting to rank first in the GLVC. The Stars held six opponents to less than 75 points - winning five of those contests.

ON DECK
The Prairie Stars return home for the first time in 2015 on Thursday, Jan. 8 to face off against Quincy. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. in TRAC.