SPRINGFIELD, IL – Quincy University edged the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) men's basketball team on the final possession in an 82-79 decision during Thursday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matchup.
 
Marcus Hinton led the Hawks (8-17, 4-12), notching 35 points and 13 rebounds. He drained 9-of-15 (60 percent) shots from the field and 15-of-16 (93.8 percent) attempts from the free-throw line. Hinton's only miss from the charity stripe came with six seconds left in the contest.
 
"He didn't miss one [from the line] until the very end and he was a 20-something 3-point shooter that hit them when it counted," UIS coach Bill Walker said. "That's to his credit. They started him inside against Eddie [Longmeyer] and he had some success. He was inside-outside. He did it all."
 
Eddie Longmeyer turned in 27 points for the Prairie Stars (14-11, 6-9). The 6-foot-3 senior guard from St. Louis, MO also collected four steals.
 
Gilwan Nelson contributed 19 points. The 6-foot-5 junior forward from Mt. Vernon, IL hit 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) shots from the floor.
 
Aundrae Williams provided 12 points. Logan Gonce added six points. Collin Stallworth and Lijah Donnelly scored five points apiece. Vince Walker tallied three points and Zach Steinberg rounded out the UIS scoring effort with two points. Steinberg also rejected two shots.
 
Quincy's Demetrius Houston recorded 20 points while Ryan Briscoe dished out six assists.
 
The Hawks outrebounded the Prairie Stars by a 40-27 margin and topped the Prairie Stars 12-8 on second-chance points.
 
Quincy knocked down 26-of-53 (49.1 percent) shots from the field and 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) attempts from 3-point range. UIS converted 30-of-63 (47.6 percent) shots from the floor and 7-of-20 (35 percent) attempts from the perimeter. The Prairie Stars drained 18-of-30 (60 percent) shots from the field in the second half.
 
Quincy sank 22-of-26 (84.6 percent) attempts from the free-throw line while UIS made 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) shots from the charity stripe.
 
The Hawks committed 16 turnovers as the Prairie Stars finished with a 26-8 advantage in points off turnovers and an 11-0 advantage on fast-break points. UIS turned the ball over just eight times.
 
Quincy opened up the contest with an 8-2 lead. The Prairie Stars responded with a 15-2 run as they held a 17-10 advantage with 12 minutes, 47 seconds remaining. Quincy took the lead back after scoring the next 10 points. The Hawks led by as many as nine points before entering halftime ahead 38-34.
 
Quincy maintained a steady lead into the second half. Trailing 51-48 with 13:38 remaining, UIS scored the next nine points with 3-pointers from Williams, Vince Walker and again by Williams.
 
The Hawks were able to tie the game at 71-all with 3:18 to go. Both teams remained within a point of each other until Hinton knocked down a 3-pointer with 38 seconds to go, giving the Hawks a 77-75 lead.
 
The Prairie Stars could not score on the next possession. Hinton hit two free throws to put the Hawks ahead by four with 20 seconds to go. Gonce drove to the basket for a layup to make the game 79-77. After Hinton hit another two free throws, Gonce took another drive to the basket to make the game 81-79 with six seconds remaining.
 
Hinton had been a perfect 14-of-14 from the charity stripe so far in the game but missed his first free throw when brought to the line again. He made his second, but UIS had the opportunity to tie the game on a 3-pointer. UIS fired a shot from 25 feet but could not convert.
 
Among teams eligible for the GLVC Tournament, the Prairie Stars rank 11th in the conference with a 2.60 rating in the GLVC Point Rating System.
 
The Prairie Stars close out the week with a GLVC road matchup against the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) (12-12, 7-8) on Saturday at 3 p.m. in St. Louis, MO.