The University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team staged a late comeback on Sunday afternoon at TRAC and forced overtime against Purdue Northwest. The Prairie Stars dominated the extra period, as they defeated the Pride by a score of 78-68.
 
The Prairie Stars and Pride were playing for the second time in their series, with both games now being decided in overtime. This time, the game featured 11 lead changes and nine ties in another back-and-forth contest.
 
In the first half, UIS trailed 24-21 with five minutes remaining, when it put together one of its best stretches of play this season. The Prairie Stars went on a 17-3 run, sparked by 12 points by Chris Hamil. That spurt help UIS lead 38-31 at halftime.
 
The second half saw Purdue Northwest come out and get back into the game. After scoring the final four points of the first half, the Pride added 11 more to their fun to take the lead. They would end up leading by as much as six at the eight-minute mark.
 
UIS still trailed by four with two minutes remaining when Hamil had a three-point play to cut the score to 62-61. After a Purdue Northwest field goal made it 64-61, both teams made a defensive stop. After the UIS stop, Hamil found himself open in the corner and made a game-tying three-pointer with 18 seconds left, which forced the extra period.
 
Hamil continued his scoring spree with the first basket of overtime, and after a Pride turnover, Jesus Castillo hit a big three-pointer. Three different Prairie Stars then scored inside the paint, as UIS pulled away. In the extra period, UIS's defense forced Purdue Northwest to miss its first six field-goal attempts, and it turned the ball over three times.
 
For the game, UIS shot 45.5 percent from the field, compared to 37.1 percent for Purdue Northwest. Both teams made seven three-pointers, but UIS made Purdue Northwest try 27 attempts behind the line. The Prairie Stars also forced 18 turnovers, and had five more rebounds.
 
Hamil had his best day as a Prairie Star as he finished with 26 points in 31 minutes of playing time. He was 11-of-20 from the field, and he also had six steals. Two UIS players had double-doubles. James Kelley finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Castillo had 12 points and 10 rebounds.  Jack Weber also finished in double-figures with 10 points. Jordan Rice had six assists and Weber led the team with two blocks. Kelley had a team-high +19 plus/minus.
 
UIS improves to 4-6 with the victory. The Prairie Stars are off until Dec. 30 when they return to TRAC for a contest against Culver-Stockton.