The University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team will welcome Division III opponent Knox College to TRAC on Wednesday night. 

UIS (7-4)

The Prairie Stars are coming off a weekend where they went 1-1 at home. 

Thursday night the Stars faced off against McKendree, a squad that was receiving votes in the National Poll. UIS not only beat the Bearcats, but won handily in a battle between two of the top teams in the GLVC. UIS took the lead with 3:43 left in the first half and never looked back from there, winning the contest 97-70. Jordan Rice had 25 points, which was closely followed by Jacob Hanna's 19. UIS shot 36-for-63 (57.1%) from the field, while McKendree shot 26-for-56 (46.4%). 

Saturday's game featured two teams on hot streaks, as the Stars battled the UMSL Tritons. The Tritons led most of the way through playing tough defense and some hot shooting, but UIS came back to tie the game at 75 with 3:27 left in the second half. UMSL broke away again and was able to ice the game at the free-throw line to leave Springfield with an 87-81 win. Jordan Rice once again led the way for the Stars with 24 points. Jacob Hanna had 21 points, Jayden Johnson finished with 12, Jack Weber had 10, and Max Kunnert recorded 10 points as well as 8 rebounds. UIS shot 29-for-56 (51.8%) from the field, including 12-for-21 (57.1%) from three. UMSL shot an impressive 30-for-50 (60.0%) from the field, including going 10-for-20 (50.0%) from three.

Jordan Rice currently leads the team with 17.9 points per game and 4.4 assists per game. Jacob Hanna is averaging 13.6 points per game to go along with 6.5 rebounds per game. Jack Weber is averaging 12.5 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game. Max Kunnert is close behind with 10.6 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game. 

Knox (5-3)

The Prairie Fire enter the game on a two game win streak, with both being conference games. 

On Wednesday afternoon, Knox played Lawrence University, where the Prairie Fire won big on the road, 72-58. An early 14-2 lead turned into a 20 point advantage at the intermission. Lawrence wouldn't get closer than 14 points in the second half as Knox earned their first conference win of the year. Andrew Milot led all scorers with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Sean Gallery added 15 points and seven rebounds. Sean O'Neal scored 11 points and hauled in nine boards. Chikere Nwosu tacked on 10 points. Knox shot 29-for-53 (54.7%) from the field, including 7-of-13 (53.8%) from three. 

On Saturday the Prairie Fire welcomed Ripon. The game was a defensive battle throughout, as Knox pulled away in the closing stages to win 54-49. Knox led by 16 points at halftime, but Ripon fought all the way back to make it a 1-point game in the second half. Andrew Milot led the Prairie Fire with 15 points. Sean O'neal added 10 points and eight rebounds. Sean Gallery and Cole Andrews tallied eight points and six rebounds apiece. Knox shot 16-for-41 (39.0%) from the field, with only 10 of those points coming in the paint. 

How to Watch

Every home game this year will be streamed on GLVCSN under a paywall. The prices are $75 for the whole season and you will be able to watch any men's basketball game on the website. Or, you can pay $10 per game to watch. You are able to follow the live stats of each game through the UIS MBB schedule.

Up Next

The Prairie Stars continue their homestand with two more games before Christmas. The Stars host Purdue Northwest on 12/17 at 3:00 p.m. and Grand Valley State on 12/19 at 6:00 p.m.