Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A combination of Illinois Springfield's hot hand from three-point range and a scoring drought on its own part doomed Missouri S&T's men's basketball team Thursday night, as the host Prairie Stars put the Miners into a deficit they couldn't overcome to win 72-52 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest.

The teams traded baskets in the early minutes of the contest, with the Miners trailing 12-8 after Nusrath Khan (Morton Grove, Ill./Maine East) knocked down a jumper at the 14:19 mark.  But after that basket, S&T began to struggle from the floor, making only one of its next seven shots and turning the ball over six times over the next 10 minutes.

UIS proceeded to build a 21-point lead in the interim, before the Miners got another basket from Khan at the 4:43 mark to halt that run; the Prairie Stars would lead 43-26 at the intermission.

Illinois Springfield shot 56.5 percent in the first half and made seven-of-nine from three-point range to build that 17-point advantage.

S&T started to chip into the Prairie Stars' advantage in the early minutes of the second half, getting to within 11 at 47-36 with 13:47 to go after Tommy Pelczynski (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) made a layup off a throw-in.  UIS would push its lead back out to 17 points moments later, only to see the Miners get the margin back to 14 after Pelczynski nailed S&T's first three-pointer of the night with 10:15 remaining.

Pelczynski hit another three with 5:31 left to make it 61-47, but with an opportunity to get closer, Jermaine Love-Roberts made a steal and dunk to make it a 16-point game again with 4:13 to go.  UIS would lead by at least 13 for the balance of the contest.

The Miners, who lost for the fourth consecutive time since beating No. 2-ranked Southern Indiana two weeks ago, got 13 points from Khan and 10 from Pelczynski in the game.  S&T shot 36.7 percent for the contest and made only 13-of-22 at the free throw line, despite outrebounding the Prairie Stars 34-31.

Kyle Gupton, who nailed three of the seven first half three-pointers for UIS, 8-9 and 5-3 in the GLVC, led the way for the Prairie Stars with 17 points while Love-Roberts ended up with 16.

The Miners (2-14, 1-7 GLVC) will finish their weekend road trip Saturday with a 3:15 p.m. game at Quincy University.