Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – After making a run to cut a 10-point Illinois Springfield lead down to one with just over seven minutes to play, Missouri S&T's men's basketball team was unable to clear the final hurdle as the Prairie Stars came away with an 85-75 Great Lakes Valley Conference win Thursday night.

The loss, the third in a row for the Miners on their current four-game road trip, drops S&T to 9-11 overall and 4-8 in the GLVC, while the Prairie Stars won for the third time in 12 tries in conference play and moved to 7-13 on the year.

The Miners held a couple of early advantages, the last at 8-6 after a Nusrath Khan (Morton Grove, Ill./Maine East) three-point basket, but the Prairie Stars ran off 10 straight points to take their largest lead of the half by the 14:48 mark.  S&T clawed back and regained the lead when Khan drilled a trey out of the corner with 10:20 to play in the opening period. 

UIS moved back in front nearly a minute later on a three-pointer by Jacob Williams and held onto that advantage until the six-minute mark when Tyler Anderson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit North) picked up a loose ball underneath the basket and hit a reverse lay-up to tie the contest at 33. 

S&T then moved back into the lead when Anderson made a steal and got a pass out to Mudiaga Eruteya (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame), who hit a circus shot in the lane to give the Miners a two-point advantage with 4:16 to play in the half.  After the Miners added  a point to the lead, UIS' Dusko Despot converted a four-point play to trigger an 8-0 run that put his team back in front before the Miners bounced back to tie the score at 41 by halftime.

A three-pointer by Jacob Williams gave UIS a seven-point lead nearly five minutes into the second half, but the Miners were able to stay within striking distance.   Bryce Foster (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central)'s lay-up at the 12:16 mark brought S&T back to within four at 58-54, but UIS made a quick run to take its largest lead of the game of nine on a pair of free throws by Jamall Millison with 9:58 to play.

UIS would extend that lead to 10 before a three-pointer by Foster sparked a 9-0 run that quickly brought the Miners to within a point at 67-66 and forced a Prairie Star timeout.    But after missing a couple of opportunities to move in front, UIS extended its advantage back to seven by the four-minute mark.

Down by five with under two minutes to go, S&T forced a Prairie Star turnover as the shot clock was running down, but Bruenger stole the ball right back and got the ball to Mark Weems, who proceeded to make two at the line with 1:46 left to make it a seven-point game.   Another Miner turnover on the next possession eventually led to two more free throws for UIS, which Williams converted with 1:15 left.

UIS made 10 of its final 12 attempts at the free throw line in the final 1:46 to hold off the Miners.

Khan led all scorers in the contest with 23 points, while Foster finished with 18.  The Miners shot 41.7 percent on the night but made only 37 percent in the second half, including just four-of-16 from beyond the arc after the intermission.

Five Prairie Star players finished in double figures, led by Weems with 17 points and Williams with 15.  UIS also outrebounded the Miners 42-27 and outscored S&T 28-14 at the free throw line to overcome the 21 turnovers S&T forced upon it. 

The Miners will close their four-game stretch away from home Saturday when they face McKendree in a 3 p.m. contest in Lebanon, Ill.