LOUISVILLE, KY – Bellarmine University extended its home winning streak to 54 games after taking a 79-54 victory over the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) men's basketball team during Saturday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matchup.
 
The Knights (20-2, 11-2) have maintained their home winning streak since Dec. 20, 2014. Bellarmine is ranked No. 9 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II poll.
 
"We faced an elite team in a hostile environment and dug too big of a hole early," UIS coach Bill Walker said.
 
Bellarmine rolled to a 48-22 lead by halftime. The Prairie Stars (13-9, 5-7) outscored the Knights 32-31 in the second half.
 
"I was proud of how we fought in the second half and played much better."
 
Vince Walker led the Prairie Stars with 14 points and five rebounds. Gilwan Nelson notched 11 points. Zach Steinberg turned in seven points. Bahari Amaya contributed six points. Eddie Longmeyer and Aundrae Williams posted four points apiece. Logan Gonce tallied three points and four assists. Brandon Van Sant scored three points. Chidi Ngwe rounded out the UIS scoring effort with two points. Collin Stallworth blocked three shots.
 
Chivarsky Corbett paced the Knights with 19 points and three blocks, while hitting 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) shots from the field. Brent Bach produced 14 points. Alex Cook notched 11 points and four assists. Jarek Coles dished out six assists and Parker Chitty collected five rebounds.
 
The Knights drained 29-of-56 (51.8 percent) shots from the field and 14-of-29 (48.3 percent) attempts from 3-point range. UIS made 20-of-52 (38.5 percent) attempts from the floor and 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) shots from behind the arc.
 
Bellarmine finished with a 7-0 advantage in fast-break points and a 12-5 advantage in points off turnovers. UIS committed 12 turnovers while Bellarmine turned the ball over seven times.
 
The Knights finished with a 33-26 rebounding advantage.
 
Bellarmine made 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) attempts from the free-throw line while UIS converted 4-of-8 (50 percent) shots from the charity stripe.
 
The Prairie Stars are scheduled for two GLVC matchups next week. UIS hosts the University of Southern Indiana (19-5, 10-2) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in TRAC. The Prairie Stars then face off with William Jewell College (17-5, 7-5) on Saturday at 5 p.m. in TRAC.
 
"I'm confident that we will be playing our best basketball down the stretch of this season."