SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A layup from Davi Austin with two minutes to play put UIS out in front, but a pair of makes from Truman doomed the University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team as it dropped a tight contest, 59-58, on Saturday afternoon at TRAC.

The Prairie Stars fall to 6-6 on the season and are still looking for their first victory in conference play. Truman has now rebounded from two conference losses with two straight victories and move to 11-4 overall.

Truman came out firing and held the lead for the entire first half. The Bulldogs eventually took an eight-point advantage, 32-24 with 2:03 to play, but both teams came up empty from the floor in the final minutes. The visitors took a 32-26 lead into halftime. UIS struggled from three-point land as it went 0-for-4 in the opening 20 minutes. The difference was on Truman's side as it made three triples in the first.

The Prairie Stars opened the second stanza on a 13-2 run aided by two threes and a layup. The visitors responded with a trey of their own to tie the game. UIS then sunk back-to-back trips to the charity stripe, another three-pointer from leading scorer Jamall Millison (Bolingbrook, Ill.) and a lay-in from Dusko Despot (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) gave the home team its biggest lead of the game, 48-41.

Over the next four minutes it became a back and forth affair with neither team leading by more than four points. Millison and Weems connected on baskets to close the game to 57-56 at 4:02, but a lay up from Austin two minutes later proved to be the final one for the Prairie Stars and not enough to take the game.

Truman's leading scorer and one of its best free-throw shooters stepped to the line to make both and put the Bulldogs out front for the final time. UIS came up empty on its final three attempts as the visitors took the win.

Millison finished with 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting, while Austin tallied 12 points along with senior Dylan Sparkman (East Peoria, Ill.). Austin also had four assists and four rebounds, while Sparkman grabbed five boards. For the game the team was 21-for-59 from the floor for a 35 percent clip.

For Truman, Jackson recorded 20 points, while Cory Myers joined him in double figures with 12. Jackson narrowly missed a double-double with eight boards to help the Bulldogs outrebound UIS, 42-35. The visitors shot just above 38 percent going 23-for-60 from the floor.

Illinois Springfield now has four days to recover and prepare for two of the best teams in the GLVC. The Prairie Stars face off with UW-Parkside on Thursday who is on an eight-game winning streak, while nationally-ranked Lewis is on tap on Saturday.