University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball player Chris Hamil has been named the GLVC Player of the Week. Hamil is the second Prairie Star player to earn the award this season, joining James Kelley who won the honor on Nov. 22.
 
Hamil led UIS to a 78-68 overtime victory over Purdue Northwest on Sunday. He was a force on both sides of the ball, and made clutch plays down the stretch to get the Prairie Stars the win. On offense, Hamil had a season-high 26 points, including shooting 11-of-20 from the field. Defensively, Hamil had six steals, one of the highest single-game totals in program history.
 
In the first half of the game, Hamil scored 12 points during a 17-3 UIS run that helped the team grab a seven-point halftime lead. Late in the second half, Hamil had six points and two steals in the final 90 seconds to help force overtime. That included a game-tying three-pointer with 18 seconds remaining. In overtime, Hamil had four more points, including the basket early in the period that put UIS ahead for good.
 
On the season, Hamil is averaging 10.8 points a game, and he is second on the team with 13 three-pointers.
 
UIS is currently 4-6 on the season. The Prairie Stars play an exhibition game at Northwestern tonight, and they return to TRAC on Dec. 30 for a game against Culver-Stockton.