(SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Feb. 23)—The McKendree University men's basketball season saw its 2016-17 season come to an end Thursday evening with an 83-75 loss at the University of Illinois Springfield.

Junior guard Justin Blanks (Barberton, OH/Norton) (Barberton, Ohio/Norton) pumped in a game-high 26 points to lead the way for the Bearcats as a late McKendree rally in the closing minutes came up short against the host Prairie Stars. The Bearcats close their year with an overall record of 9-17 while posting a 3-15 mark in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

Senior guard Michael Jackson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) netted 17 points in his final game for McKendree, while sophomore guard Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) (St. Joseph, Ill./St. Joseph) chipped in with 16 points. Jackson ends his four-year playing career at McKendree with 1,172 points, which is good for 38^th on the Bearcats' all-time scoring list.

Two more seniors registered team-leading statistical totals in their final appearance in a McKendree uniform. Senior forward Darin Winkelman (Steeleville, IL/Steeleville) (Steeleville, Ill./Steeleville) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the Bearcats, while senior guard Kyle Yates (Bethalto, IL/Civic Memorial) (Bethalto, Ill./Civic Memorial) dished out three assists for McKendree.

In the first half, McKendree held an early lead before Illinois Springfield reeled off eight consecutive points to grab a 15-12 advantage with 12:11 remaining in the period. The Bearcats eventually battled their way back in front, and later used a 9-2 burst to take their largest lead of the contest, 30-22, with 5:24 left in the half.

Illinois Springfield (9-18, 4-14 GLVC) managed to pull even heading towards the intermission before Eddie Longmeyer drove the length of the court following a McKendree turnover and scored on a lay-up just before the buzzer to send the Prairie Stars into the locker room with a 39-37 advantage.

The game remained tight until the middle stages of the second half, when Illinois Springfield used an 11-2 run to stretch its advantage to 68-55 with 7:43 remaining. McKendree made one final run at the Prairie Stars, pulling within six points on three different occasions over the final two minutes. However, UIS was able to seal the victory at the free throw line, going 6-for-6 from the stripe in the final 43.6 seconds.

Longmeyer and Paxton Harmon each connected for 19 points to lead Illinois Springfield. Longmeyer also grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds, while Logan Gonce contributed 17 points and a game-high six assists for the Prairie Stars.