LEBANON, IL – The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) men's basketball team surged past McKendree University in an 86-72 victory during Saturday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matchup.
 
UIS (10-4, 2-2) rebounded after suffering an 84-76 overtime loss to Lewis University (7-8, 2-3) just two days earlier.
 
"I was really pleased with how the team responded after a heartbreaking overtime loss to Lewis," UIS coach Bill Walker said. "We were very unselfish and we need to continue that throughout the year."
 
UIS and McKendree (10-4, 1-3) were separated by one possession for the opening 10 minutes, 37 seconds of the game. The Prairie Stars then built a 15-point lead before settling in with a 45-36 advantage at halftime.
 
After leading the Bearcats 54-47 with 15:37 to go, the Prairie Stars went on a 12-0 run during the next 4:20 to extend their lead to 19. The biggest lead for UIS came with 8:01 remaining, when the Prairie Stars held a 78-55 advantage to lead by 23. McKendree outscored UIS 17-9 for the remainder of the contest.
 
Zach Steinberg contributed a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds for the Prairie Stars. The 6-foot-10 junior center from Wildwood, MO hit 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) shots from the field.
 
Vince Walker and Collin Stallworth each turned in 11 points. Stallworth also recorded four blocks, which is a team high for the season. His 11 points is also a career high.
 
Eddie Longmeyer, Gilwan Nelson and Aundrae Williams scored 10 points apiece. Williams collected three steals. Longmeyer tallied nine rebounds and six assists while Nelson added four assists. Lijah Donnelly notched eight points, Logan Gonce produced four points while Bahari Amaya rounded out the UIS scoring effort with three points.
 
The Prairie Stars had a variety of scoring contributions which included 35 points from the UIS bench.
 
"Our freshmen were phenomenal and our bench was terrific."
 
Giovanni Offard led McKendree with 17 points while Justin Blanks followed with 16 points. Nolan Gerling recorded a team-high seven rebounds.
 
UIS drained 34-of-64 (53.1 percent) shots from the floor and 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) attempts from 3-point range. McKendree sank 27-of-62 (43.5 percent) attempts from the field and 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) from the perimeter.
 
The Bearcats hit 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) shots from the free-throw line while the Prairie Stars made 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) attempts from the perimeter.
 
UIS held a 38-34 rebounding advantage over McKendree.
 
Among UIS Division II career leaders, Steinberg ranks fourth in field goals made and fifth in points. In UIS Division II history, Longmeyer ranks sixth in career assists (145), seventh in career points (615) and T-9 in career blocks (16). Vince Walker ranks ninth in UIS Division II history with 588 career points.
 
UIS is scheduled for two conference matchups next week. The Prairie Stars clash with the University of Missouri-St. Louis (7-6, 2-2) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in TRAC. UIS then quarrels with Quincy University (4-10, 0-5) on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. in Quincy, IL.