The University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team set a program single-game three-point record on Saturday afternoon to help the Prairie Stars to a 76-75 victory over McKendree in Lebanon, Ill. The victory clinched back-to-back .500 seasons for the program, its first since moving to the NCAA level. The 28 victories over the last two years is also the most since UIS jumped to NCAA Division II.
 
 UIS connected on 18-of-34 three-pointers in the game, including 10-of-15 in the second half. That broke the previous record of 17 which was set early in the 2005-06 season when the Prairie Stars made 17-of-31 in a win over Ashford. Vince Walker led the team by making six-of-nine, and Cole Harper was a perfect five-of-five from behind the arc. Bahari Amaya made four three-pointers, and Gilwan Nelson made three.
 
The record-breaking three-pointer proved to also be the game-winning shot. UIS overcame a nine-point second half deficit, but it trailed late by a 75-73 score. With one minute remaining in the game, Walker connected on a three-pointer to put UIS ahead. McKendree had two possessions after that, but the Prairie Stars made two strong defensive stands, including forcing an off-balance shot in the final seconds of the game which was off the mark.
 
Besides its three-point shooting, UIS also won with its defense in the second half. The Prairie Stars held McKendree to shoot just 40 percent from the field for the final 20 minutes, and they did not allow an offensive rebound in that span.
 
McKendree led 44-38 at halftime and hit a three-pointer early in the second half to go up nine. UIS answered with a 17-7 run to go ahead, and the rest of the second half was back-and-forth until Walker's game-winning shot.
 
Bahari Amaya finished with a team-high 20 points, one more than Walker. Harper scored 16 and just missed a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds. Gilwan Nelson was the other Prairie Stars player in double-figures scoring with 12. Logan Gonce had a team-high six assists, and Daniel Soetan had two of the team's three steals, and one of the team's four blocks.
 
UIS improves to 14-12 on the season and 7-9 in GLVC play. The Prairie Stars return home next Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. game against Southern Indiana.