SPRINGFIELD, IL - The University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team open Great Lakes Valley Conference play this weekend on the road at Bellarmine and Southern Indiana. Game times are set for Thursday at 7 p.m. CST and Saturday at 3:15 p.m. CST, respectively.

You can follow the games using the links above.

QUICK HITS

• The Prairie Stars are 3-3 after splitting their games at the St. Joseph's Tournament last weekend. After falling to Hillsdale on Friday, UIS bounced back to defeat Ohio Dominican, 77-70.
• UIS opens GLVC play this weekend, marking the first time the Prairie Stars have played a GLVC game before Christmas break since the 2012-13 season.
• Junior-transfer Paxton Harmon scored a career-high 18 points in the win against Ohio Dominican. He also led the team with five rebounds.

MORE NEWS AND NOTES
FRESHMAN STANDOUTS
Freshmen Bahari Amaya and Zach Steinberg have had a huge impact for the Prairie Stars in their first six collegiate games. Amaya is scoring 7.2 points per game while Steinberg leads the team in rebounding (5.0).

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Nine Prairie Stars are averaging at least 6.8 points per game this season led by senior Jamall Millison (12.2). In the team's win against Ohio Dominican, five players scored in double figures led by Millison and junior Paxton Harmon with 18 points each.

COMING UP NEXT
The Prairie Stars return to TRAC on December 11 to host Cumberland at 7 p.m.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
BELLARMINE KNIGHTS
The Knights were ranked 4th in the nation last week but are 1-2 in their last three games and now ranked 24th heading into Thursday's game.

Junior guard Rusty Troutman leads the team in scoring (21.2). In four of the team's six games, Troutman has scored at least 23 points.

The Knights are one of the nation's best shooting teams. Through six games, BU is ranked 14th with a 50.5 field goal percentage.

Last season's Knights reached the final four before falling to eventual national champions, Florida Southern

Head coach Scott Davenport returns for his 11th season in Louisville. Davenport led the Knights to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2011.

SOUTHERN INDIANA SCREAMING EAGLES
The Screaming Eagles are 4-2 to start the 2015-15 season after splitting a pair of games at the Bill Jorgens Memorial Classic last weekend. Before playing UIS, the Screaming Eagles will travel to McKendree on December 3.

Four players are averaging in double figures for USI led by Alex Stein (16.7) and Jeril Taylor (16.3).

Rodney Watson returns for his sixth season in Evansville after leading the Screaming Eagles to a 19-8 overall record and a 12-6 mark in the GLVC last season.