The Illinois Springfield men's basketball team is set to close out the regular season with a pair of home games, facing William Jewell on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Rockhurst on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Illinois Springfield (12-14, 7-11 GLVC)
UIS is coming off back-to-back losses, falling 82-62 to Upper Iowa and 87-80 to Lewis over the weekend.
Against Upper Iowa, the Prairie Stars kept the game close early, engaging in a three-point battle led by Max Kunnert. However, turnovers plagued UIS, allowing the Peacocks to pull ahead by 10 points. Upper Iowa controlled the paint in the second half and applied defensive pressure to maintain momentum, securing the 80-62 win.
At Lewis, UIS trailed 45-27 at halftime but responded with a 53-42 scoring advantage in the second half, nearly completing a comeback. Kunnert hit back-to-back three-pointers to bring UIS within 10, with Khalil Ross contributing offensively as well. However, Lewis strung together a late surge to hold off the Prairie Stars. Kunnert finished with five three-pointers, setting a new program record with 222 threes in his career at UIS, surpassing Vince Walker's career mark of 220.
William Jewell (16-10, 10-8 GLVC)
William Jewell enters the week after losing 78-77 to Missouri-St. Louis and 67-60 to Lincoln.
In the one-point loss to UMSL, the Cardinals led 48-47 at halftime in a high-scoring first half. The Tritons pulled ahead by as many as seven late in the game, but Jewell fought back to within a point before running out of time.
Against Lincoln, the Cardinals trailed 6-0 before taking a 13-12 lead. Lincoln responded with a run to enter the break ahead 29-25. In the second half, William Jewell cut the deficit to one possession on 10 different occasions, but Lincoln answered each time. With under two minutes remaining, Jewell made it a 63-60 game before Lincoln sealed the win with a late layup and two free throws.
Rockhurst (16-10, 10-8 GLVC)
Rockhurst visits TRAC on UIS Senior Day after losses to Lincoln (83-64) and No. 11 Missouri S&T (78-77) last week.
Against Lincoln, the Hawks jumped ahead early but surrendered a 19-12 run. They trailed by 11 at halftime and managed to get within 10 with 2:15 left, but back-to-back threes from Lincoln put the game out of reach.
In a thriller against No. 11 Missouri S&T, Rockhurst took an 11-8 lead after an 8-0 run, but the Miners responded with a 7-0 run of their own. The first half featured four ties and four lead changes, with Missouri S&T taking a 33-28 lead at the break. The second half remained tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than four points in the final 10 minutes. Overall, the game featured six ties and six lead changes before Missouri S&T pulled out the one-point win.
GLVC Point Rating System (PRS)
As of Feb. 24, UIS is tied for 11th with Drury (2.75 rating), while William Jewell sits in 10th (2.81). Rockhurst is seventh (3.19), trailing No. 8 Indianapolis and McKendree (3.08).
Promotions
- Thursday – Student Life Night: Free pizza for UIS students, giveaways in the Blue Crew Student Section, and engagement with UIS Student Life.
- Saturday – Senior Day: Pre-game recognition of UIS seniors Max Kunnert, Isaiah Esker, Nate Shockey, Evan Altman, and Jack Weber.
Follow Along
Both games will be streamed live on the GLVC Sports Network, with live statistics available online.