Box Score KIRKSVILLE, MO --- The Prairie Stars (6-8, 0-4) fell to the Bulldogs 95-79 on the road as Truman State used a 50-point second half to pull away from the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS). Down just two at the half, the Prairie Stars couldn't keep up with the Truman State (12-3, 4-1) offense as the Bulldogs poured in 13 three's on the night.
JJ Cravatta got the offense going early for the Prairie Stars, completing a three point play for the first points of the game for UIS.
Zach Steinberg and
Richard Freeman both controlled the paint, using a tip-in and a dunk, respectively, to keep the offense going before
Logan Gonce hit a three for the first ten points of the game.
The Prairie Stars continuously pulled within a few points throughout the half, but each time they did, it was combatted with a basket from the home team.
Down 37-32 with under five minutes remaining in the half,
Davi Austin started a 7-0 run for the Prairie Stars with a layup before
Vince Walker hit the second of his two three's on the night to tie the game at 37. Austin finished the run with a fast break layup off his own rebound to give the Prairie Stars their first lead of the game.
Responding in kind, Andrew Vander Zwaag made his fifth three of the first half to regain the lead. With 20 seconds left in the half,
Zach Steinberg connected with two free throws to give the Prairie Stars another lead but a three at the buzzer from Truman State gave them a 45-43 advantage after 20 minutes of play.
The second half began just as the first half ended, with a three from the Bulldogs but Austin responded with one of his own to keep the game close. An 11-2 run opened up the game with under 15 minutes to play, as Truman took a 59-48 lead.
Baskets from Freeman and
Bahari Amaya cut the deficit to under ten before
Jamall Millison connected with a three to put the Prairie Stars behind just seven with 8:54 remaining. That's as close as it would get though, as the Bulldogs would rattle off a 12-3 run to increase their lead to 16.
The game would end 95-79 and push the Prairie Stars to 6-8 on the season and 0-4 in conference play.
Millison ended with a team-high 16 points while Austin and Steinberg each added 13. Freeman had a team-high eight rebounds while
Vince Walker totaled eight points, hitting two three's on the night.
UIS will return home next Thursday against Rockhurst at 7:30 pm before hosting William Jewell on Saturday at 3:15 pm, both of which are Great Lakes Valley Conference contests.
