SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Despite a come-from-behind effort in the second half, the University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team fell just short of a victory as William Jewell went home with a 72-71 win on Thursday evening at The Recreation and Athletic Center.

Junior Jamall Millison (Bolingbrook, Ill.) topped the team with 20 points on 7-for-14 from the floor including six triples. The guard picked up two steals and dished out three helpers as well. Classmate JJ Cravatta (Streator, Ill.) chipped in 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting and hitting four from long range. Sophomore Mark Weems (Chicago) rounded out the double-figure efforts with 15 points.

After a back-and-forth game in the opening 10 minutes, the visitors grabbed hold of the opening stanza by the 10:43 mark. With the score knotted at 12, the Cardinals used an 11-3 run to pull ahead 23-15 by 5:04. Weems sunk a three-pointer to bring UIS within five, but it was the closest the Stars got as William Jewell took a 32-22 lead into halftime.

UIS hit just eight field goals in the first half and went 4-for-13 from long range. William Jewell fared slightly better with a 40 percent clip, but it was 10 points off of UIS' seven turnovers that proved to be the difference.

William Jewell maintained its distance in the second half until UIS chipped away at the advantage with a 7-1 run to take its first lead of the game since the opening 20 minutes. The visitors got back on top late into the second half when a pair of free throws put the Cardinals out front 62-52. An 8-0 run from the Prairie Stars gave UIS a chance to take the game.

Down by five with 1:10 remaining, D'Vante Mosby missed the backend of a free throw as junior Davi Austin corralled the rebound and tossed it to Millison who hit a trey to bring the home team within two, 65-63 with a minute to play. Over the next 60 seconds, William Jewell went 7-for-10 from the line and UIS came up empty on two possessions to give the Cardinals the win. A last ditch effort by Cravatta to get a foul on a three for a four-point play was not called as the buzzer sounded and William Jewell grabbed the win.

The Cardinals held a 43-29 edge off the glass including a 13-2 margin in offensive boards. William Jewell put back 15 second chance points. For UIS, senior Kentrell King (Chicago) pulled down a team-best nine boards.

Illinois Springfield shot an outstanding 53 percent in the second half including a 56 percent outing from long range. The Stars went 23-for-54 from the floor for the game (46 percent) and missed just one free throw on a season-best 12-for-13 night.

Mosby led the way for Jewell as he tallied a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Hildebrandt had a game-best 21 points.

UIS looks to rebound from the loss against Rockhurst on Saturday. The Hawks dropped an 84-78 decision at McKendree on Thursday. Game time is set for 3 p.m.