SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Four players scored in double figures as the University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team dropped a 70-55 decision at Drury on Thursday evening at the O'Reilly Center.
Senior
Kentrell King (Chicago) and junior
Jamall Millison (Bolingbrook, Ill.) each chipped in 13 points, while sophomore
Mark Weems (Chicago) and junior
JJ Cravatta (Streator, Ill.) added 10 a piece. King was 6-for-8 from the night to hit his season-high in points.
The Prairie Stars (8-12) took a one-point lead, 13-12 and later 20-19, both on three-pointers, but it was as good as it got for the visitors. Back-to-back triples from Kameron Bundy sparked a 17-5 run for Drury (15-5) as it took a 37-24 lead into halftime. UIS outshot the Panthers in the opening stanza 45 percent to 43 percent, but Drury used long balls to its advantage, hitting six treys to the visitors' two.
Drury pushed its lead to as many as 24 in the second frame, but UIS chipped away at the edge to pull within 13 on a triple from King. It was as close as the guests would get as the home team held UIS to just three field goals in the final five minutes.
Drury capitalized on UIS' 16 turnovers as the Panthers held a 31-10 edge in points off turnovers. The hosts shot 52 percent in the second half and went 26-for-55 for the game for a 47 percent clip. The Prairie Stars went 45 percent from the floor on 20-for-44 shooting.
Bundy tallied a game-high 24 points, while dishing out five assists. John Caraballo also hit double figures with 10 points. 10 of the 12 Panthers that saw time sunk at least one bucket.
UIS now turns its attention to Missouri S&T on Saturday in Rolla, Mo.