SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The No. 22 UIndy men's basketball team (15-5, 7-5 GLVC) held a three-point lead on the final possession on Saturday afternoon, and then the Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars (12-8, 5-7 GLVC) continued its theatrics with a game-tying buzzer-beating long ball to force overtime.
 
The Prairie Stars sunk four straight free throws to close out an 89-86 victory over the Greyhounds, just two days removed from downing No. 8 Bellarmine on a 3-ball at the horn.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The story took place primarily in the second half, but the opening 20 minutes was not without its fun. Junior Trevor Lakes closed out the half with a 3-pointer to knot the game at 35 apiece just before the break, capitalizing on a big offensive board by senior Jordache Mavunga.
 

?? | Mavunga board ?? Lakes triple! @UIndyMBB and UIS are knotted at 3??5?? at halftime. pic.twitter.com/CagzOKxCRH

— UIndy Athletics (@UIndyAthletics) February 1, 2020

UIS channeled its first-half vibes from January 4, when the Blue and Gold could not miss from the field. The Prairie Stars built a nine-point advantage with under 14 minutes remaining, drilling five of seven shots while limiting the Greyhounds to just two points over a 15-2 stretch for the home team.
 
Marcus Latham and Cory Miller Jr. led the offense for UIndy in the second half, combining for 26 points in the last 25 minutes, however, it was Jimmy King who drilled a 3-pointer with 7.6 ticks left to give UIndy a 78-75 lead. UIS's Alonso Meana countered with his lone bucket of the evening to send the game into overtime. Trailing 86-85 with under a minute remaining, the Prairie Stars sunk four from the charity stripe to knock off the Greyhounds.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Miller Jr. tallied 17 points after halftime, knocking down six of nine from the floor
-Lakes logged a game-high 43:24 of action in the loss, finishing with 22 points and eight rebounds
-UIndy controlled the play in the paint, outscoring UIS, 42-32, inside. Big men Jacob Polakovich and Kendrick Tchoua hit five-of-seven attempts to combine for 13 points
 
MORE NOTES
UIS has won three of the past four contests over UIndy … Lakes ranks sixth all-time in UIndy history with 197 long balls.
 
UP NEXT
The Greyhounds will head to Rockhurst University next Thursday evening for an 8:30 p.m. ET tip. UIndy has won each of the past three contests against the Hawks, and lead the all-time series, 9-5.