Illinois Springfield men's basketball (10-6, 6-2 GLVC) dropped its second conference game in a row in an 84-56 defeat to the Rockhurst Hawks (12-4, 6-2 GLVC) on Thursday evening at TRAC. The Hawks were led by the GLVC's leading scorer, Drenin Denkins, who finished with 23 points. Denkins was 5-for-8 from beyond the three-point line, and the senior transfer from Southwest Baptist continues to prove he is one of the top scorers in the GLVC.
UIS came out of the gates hot, taking a 19-12 lead with 11:12 remaining in the first half. Rockhurst answered by taking a 27-25 lead with 6:06 remaining and never looked back. UIS shot just 1-for-13 from beyond the arc (7.7%) compared to Rockhurst's 10-for-26 performance (38.5%). The Prairie Stars relied heavily on Alex Stell (12 points) and Tye Banks (10 points) early in an effort to stay within reach.
Rockhurst's offensive surge began with its 27-25 lead in the first half, as the Hawks closed the period on a 19-6 run. During the run, the Hawks relied on Jack Scott, who totaled six points on a jumper at 6:06 and layups at 3:26 and 0:04. For UIS, Younger, Rice and Stell were the only Prairie Stars to score during that stretch, coming from a layup and a pair of free throws. Rockhurst carried the momentum into halftime with a 46-31 lead.
The Hawks came out of the locker room hot, opening the second half with a three-pointer from Denkins at 19:53. Stell answered with two points at the free-throw line, but the Prairie Stars continued to struggle to build momentum and cut into the deficit.
At the 10:27 mark of the second half, UIS showed signs of life with layups from Koester and Jorden Williams that trimmed the Rockhurst lead to nine. The Hawks responded immediately, however, with a three-pointer from Micah Deaver at 8:34 to push the lead back into double digits. That shot proved to be the turning point, as Rockhurst closed out the game on a 24-8 run.
Stell led UIS with 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting. Banks added 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, while Rice finished with six points and four assists. Britton Dutton also contributed six points and a steal.
UIS fell to 10-6 overall and 6-2 in GLVC play, while Rockhurst improved to 12-4 overall and 6-2 in conference action.
"Rockhurst was very good tonight," said UIS head coach Matt Brock. "After a strong start, we had a lot of trouble stopping their offense late in the first half. We will have to be much better defensively on Saturday."
Up Next
Illinois Springfield returns home Saturday to host Southwest Baptist for Faith and Family Day at TRAC. The Prairie Stars will then hit the road Thursday, Jan. 22, at Drury.
Thursday night's home basketball games highlighted the UIS College of Public Affairs and Education (CPAE) as the campus partner, providing CPAE students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience by writing the Prairie Stars' game recaps.
