It took a while for the University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team to heat up on Thursday afternoon, and a large comeback wasn't enough for the Prairie Stars to capture a GLVC victory. UIS fell to Rockhurst by a 74-68 score in Kansas City, Mo.  
 
The Prairie Stars started out cold, especially from three-point range. UIS made just one-of-10 three-pointers in the first half and trailed 44-26 at the break. Rockhurst extended that lead to 22 early in the second half.
 
Over the next nine minutes though, UIS went on a 28-4 run. Trey Marble scored 11 points and Keymonta Johnson had 10 during that run. A three-pointer by Chase Robinson with 8:18 remaining in the game gave the Prairie Stars a 57-55 lead.
 
The Hawks quickly responded with six straight points, and UIS was never able to regain the lead. Rockhurst made six-of-six from the free-throw line in the final minute to close the game out.
 
UIS finished the game shooting 39.7 percent from the field and made seven-of-25 three-pointers. Rockhurst shot 45.5 percent from the field, and had three more three-pointers and three more free throws than the Prairie Stars. UIS had 15 assists in the game, and just seven turnovers.
 
Johnson led the Prairie Stars with 23 points. He was nine-of-14 shooting for the game, and also had a team-high two blocks. Marble finished with 19 points, including four three-pointers, and had seven of the team's assists. Chase Robinson added 14 points, and Jack Weber had eight points in his UIS debut. Matt Wendling had a team-high nine rebounds, two more than Johnson.
 
UIS is now 1-1 on the season. The Prairie Stars return to TRAC on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. game against Maryville.