The University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team could not hold off Drury down the stretch on Saturday afternoon in Springfield, Mo. The Prairie Stars fell on the road to the Panthers by an 86-78 score.
 
UIS started out the game hot from long distance, making nine-of-17 three-pointers in the first half. The Prairie Stars led 33-21 with five minutes remaining in the half, before a late Drury run cut the lead to 37-36. Alonso Meana hit a three-pointer in the final second though to give UIS a 40-36 halftime lead.
 
The second half was back and forth with six ties and five lead changes. The two teams were knotted at 73 with three minutes remaining, when Drury hit a three-pointer to take the lead for good. That started a 7-1 run for the Panthers which was the difference in the game. In the final four minutes, Drury made four-of-five from the field, including two three-pointers, and nine-of-10 from the free-throw line.
 
UIS won the battle from three-point range, making 15-of-31, compared to 11-of-27 for Drury. Drury made 52.9 percent of its shots inside the arc though, compared to 36 percent for the Prairie Stars.
 
Jesus Castillo made six-of-nine three-pointers in the game for UIS, and had a team-high 19 points. Castillo and Keymonta Johnson each led the squad with seven rebounds, and Johnson had a team-best seven assists. Johnson and Chase Robinson each had 15 points, and Matt Wendling scored 11 off the bench.
 
UIS falls to 12-10 on the season and 5-9 in GLVC play. The Prairie Stars will start their final homestand of the year on Thursday night with a 7:30 p.m. game against Missouri S&T.