The Illinois Springfield men's basketball team overcame a double-digit first-half deficit and locked down defensively in the second half to earn a 68-62 victory over Indianapolis on Thursday night at TRAC. With the win, UIS moves to 12-12 overall and 7-9 in GLVC play, while UIndy falls to 13-11 (7-9 GLVC).

"It was probably our best defensive half of the year in the second," said Coach Matt Brock. "We made every shot hard for them. It was great to see Nate back out there; he did a great job of finding his teammates."

Game Recap

• After a delayed start at 8:20 p.m. due to an overtime women's matchup, the Greyhounds wasted no time getting on the board, knocking down a three-pointer to set the tone early. UIndy built an 18-11 lead and stretched their advantage to as many as 10 points at 31-21, fueled by their dominance in the paint. UIS struggled to slow down UIndy's perimeter shooting, as the visitors sank eight first-half three-pointers.
• At halftime, UIndy held a 40-34 lead, shooting 48.5% from the field compared to UIS' 48.3%. The key difference was three-point shooting, where UIndy held a 32.1% to 23.1% advantage.
• UIS slowly erased deficit in the second half, eventually tying the game at 46-all on a thunderous dunk by Khalil Ross. The teams traded baskets midway through the half before UIS surged ahead behind key contributions from Max Kunnert and Isaiah Esker, along with a renewed defensive effort.
• UIndy made one final push, cutting the deficit to two points after a pair of made free throws. However, Kunnert answered with a crucial layup, and Tye Banks sealed the game with a putback layup off a missed Ross shot, putting the game out of reach.
• Max Kunnert led the Prairie Stars with 18 points, shooting 8-of-14 from the field, including 2-of-7 from beyond the arc. Tye Banks added 7 points with 5 rebounds, and Khalil Ross chipped in 10 points, including a critical dunk to help tie the game in the second half.

Up Next
UIS is off on Saturday before hitting the road next weekend for key GLVC matchups against Upper Iowa and Lewis.

Around the GLVC
Illinois Springfield 68, Indianapolis 62
Upper Iowa 82, Maryville 73
Missouri-St. Louis 85, Quincy 62
William Jewell 85, Missouri S&T 80
Lewis 69, McKendree 64
Truman State, 70, Lincoln 56
Drury 81, Rockhurst 69