The University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team had two different halves on Thursday evening at TRAC against Lewis. The Prairie Stars couldn't overcome a bad start to the second half in a 78-73 conference loss.
 
UIS came out on fire and led 16-4 just over six minutes into the game. It led by as many as 17 points and went halftime with a 43-32 lead. The Prairie Stars shot 53.6 percent from the field in the half, and held the Flyers to under 40 percent shooting.
 
Lewis did go into halftime on a 5-0 run, including a three-pointer at the buzzer. It took that momentum into the final half. UIS did not make a field goal until the 11:15 mark, and Lewis went on a 17-4 run during that time to take the lead. Another run later in the half, a 12-3 spurt, gave Lewis a 70-59 lead with under four minutes remaining.
 
The Prairie Stars made one more run, scoring nine straight to make the final two minutes interesting. UIS got within one point on two different occasions, but both times Lewis scored on its next possession. UIS had one more chance with under 15 seconds left to tie the game with a three-pointer, but a turnover helped seal the game.
 
UIS shot just 31 percent in the final half, compared to 56.7 percent for Lewis. For the game, the Flyers were 46.9 percent from the field, while the Prairie Stars made 42.1 percent of their attempts. Lewis had a 40-18 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Bahari Amaya led UIS with 20 points, including four-of-four from three-point range. Aundrae Williams finished with 15 points, and Gilwan Nelson had 12 points and a team-high four steals. Daniel Soetan had team-highs with five assists and three blocked shots.
 
UIS falls to 13-7 on the season and 6-4 in GLVC play. The Prairie Stars will be home on Saturday against Indianapolis at 3 p.m.