The University of Illinois Springfield men's basketball team will continue their season with a return to GLVC play with a home game on Wednesday, and an away game on Saturday. The Stars host Drury on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., and William Jewell on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
UIS (10-4, 3-1)
The Prairie Stars are currently on a three game winning streak. UIS sits tied for 2nd in the GLVC standings.
UIS continued their good start to the season over the holiday period, going 3-0 against Knox College, Purdue Northwest, and Grand Valley State. Against GVSU on December 19 the Prairie Stars used a second half rally to overcome a tough Laker squad. GVSU went on an 18-3 run in the first half to lead 35-21 at the break. UIS shot 6-for-8 from three point range in the second half to take the lead while the defense only allowed 22 points in the second half. UIS took the lead on a Max Kunnert three-pointer with 3:53 left in the game. The Stars ran away in the final few minutes, winning 70-57. Max Kunnert led all scorers with 20 points, going 6-for-11 from three. Jordan Rice (14), Jacob Hanna (12), and Evan Altman (11) also finished with double-digit points. UIS shot 23-of-48 (47.9%) from the field, including 10-for-23 (43.5%) from three. GVSU shot 22-of-62 (35.5%) from the field, but only 6-of-23 (26.1%) from three.
Drury (7-4, 0-3)
The Panthers went 2-2 in the month of December. Drury currently is tied for 13th in the GLVC standings.
Drury's last game before their holiday break came on December 19 against Southern Arkansas. The Panthers closed 2023 with a tightly contested win, 72-68. The game had fourteen lead changes, but a 12-0 Drury run in the second half was enough for the Panthers to squeak by. Juok Riak led all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Logan Applegate was close behind with 18 points, as Quenton Shelton added 11 of his own. Drury shot 23-of-52 (44.2%) from the field, including 6-of-22 (27.3%) from three. Southern Arkansas shot 24-of-65 (36.9%) from the field, including 6-for-26 (23.1%) from three.
William Jewell (7-4, 1-2)
The Cardinals also went 2-2 in the month of December. William Jewell sits 12th in the GLVC standings.
William Jewell's last games before the holiday break were on December 16 and 17 at the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic in Quincy, Illinois. The Cardinals went 1-1, losing a close game to Wayne State, 72-76, and beating East-West University handily, 87-70. Against Wayne State, the Cardinals trailed for the majority of the game, but had a chance to tie with less than a minute to play. Against East-West, WJC did whatever they wanted to on the offensive end, recording 87 points to go along with a season high 23 assists as a team.
Jordan Jermain - 17.1 ppg, 5.1 rebounds/game, 3.3 assists/game
Kobe McKinley - 15.4 ppg, 4.6 rebounds/game, 2.2 steals/game
Grant Stubbs - 12.0 ppg, 5.2 rebounds/game, 2.5 assists/game
Trey Shannon - 10.5 ppg
How to Watch
Every conference game this year will be streamed on GLVCSN behind 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 GLVC action with home games against Upper Iowa on January 11, and Truman State on January 13.
