ROMEOVILLE, IL --- For the second straight year, the Prairie Stars met up against Lewis in the opening round of the GLVC tournament in Romeoville. After falling in double-overtime earlier in the season to the Flyers, UIS came out firing but ultimately fell 80-76, ending their season with an 11-18 mark.
Jamall Millison ended a stellar four-year career for UIS with a career-high 27 points, grabbing nine rebounds as he led the way for the Prairie Stars.
UIS jumped out to an early 9-5 lead as
JJ Cravatta, Millison, and
Paxton Harmon each hit a three in the first couple minutes. A Millison layup pushed the Prairie Star lead to 14-7 with 14:20 remaining in the half, giving the Prairie Stars their largest lead of the game. However, UIS went cold for the next seven minutes as Lewis went on a 15-0 run to take a 22-14 lead. Millison ended the drought with a three and back-to-back free throws to cut the deficit back to three.
Another big run for Lewis gave them a 15-point lead in the first half, as a 12-0 push that included three three's gave them a 34-19 advantage. However, UIS closed the half on a 17-6 run to cut the halftime deficit to 42-33 as
Logan Gonce ended the half with a three with seven seconds left.
In the second half, the Prairie Stars did all they could to comeback, hitting seven more three's in the final stanza. Lewis seemed to combat every UIS run with a bucket of their own, not allowing the Prairie Stars to get within seven until the final four minutes of play.
Bahari Amaya hit his second of two three's with 3:50 left to cut the Lewis lead to just four. After hitting a game-tying three last week against McKendree in the final seconds,
Zach Steinberg once again came up clutch, hitting a three with under a minute to go to cut the deficit to 77-74.
Lewis' Delaney Blaylock missed both ends of a two-shot foul on the ensuing possession, giving the Prairie Stars a chance to tie, but Millison's wing three went in and out, with under 20 seconds left.
The Prairie Stars' 15 three's is a single-game team record, besting their previous high of 14, which they set in 2010 at Lewis. Millison's 27 points was a career-high as well as season-high for any UIS player. Cravatta closed out his career doing what he does best, hitting 3-of-7 from deep for 13 points. Harmon had a big game, scoring 13 points and grabbing five boards in his fifth start of the season.
UIS played the entire second half without senior point guard
Davi Austin, who went down with an injury after getting knocked down on a fast break in the first half. Gonce, who played the entire second half, dished out six assists, grabbed five rebounds, and scored six points in his GLVC tournament debut.
The Prairie Stars will graduate their top three scorers' from this years team but will return five players who averaged at least 15 minutes per game, including four freshmen.
