(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 23)—The McKendree University men's basketball team was defeated Saturday afternoon at home by the University of Illinois Springfield, 76-75.
 
The Prairie Stars hit their 18^th and final three-pointer of the contest with exactly one minute to play and survived a potential game-winning shot attempt in the closing seconds by the Bearcats to escape with the win. McKendree moves to 9-16 on the year and 5-11 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. The Bearcats will play the middle contest of their three-game home stand Thursday evening against No. 9-ranked Bellarmine University. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
 
Junior center Nolan Gerling (Germantown, IL/Mater Dei) led the offensive attack for McKendree with 21 points, 14 of which came in the first half. Junior guard Logan Kohrmann (Bartelso, IL/Breese Central) added 18 points along with a team-high seven rebounds for the Bearcats, while junior guard Alijah Thomas (Des Moines, IA/Hoover) posted 11 points, four assists and three steals in the effort.
 
A see-saw second half featured five ties and seven lead changes between the two teams. McKendree held a 44-38 advantage at halftime and stretched the margin to nine points at 47-38 when Thomas drained a three-pointer on the Bearcats' second possession of the second half. Illinois Springfield then used a 10-3 run to trim its deficit to 50-48 with 16:34 remaining.
 
From there, the biggest lead for either team came at 54-49 for McKendree when junior guard Giovanni Offard (Freeport, IL/Freeport) hit a jumper from just inside the free throw line with just over 15 minutes left. The teams battled over the next several minutes as the Prairie Stars chipped away and eventually grabbed a 70-69 lead with 4:32 remaining. Thomas hit a free throw to knot the score once again at 70-70 when Offard knocked down a three-pointer at the 3:43 mark to push McKendree out in front at 73-70.
 
Illinois Springfield answered with a three-pointer to tie things at 73-73 when Kohrmann sank two free throws to give McKendree its final lead of the contest at 75-73 with 1:19 on the clock. The Prairie Stars' Vince Walker sank a 23-foot shot with 60 seconds to play to help the visitors surge back in front. The Bearcats came up empty on their next possession before Thomas forced a UIS turnover with 20 seconds to play, giving the ball back to McKendree.
 
The Bearcats worked the ball to Kohrmann, who was just off the mark on a 15-foot jumper with two seconds left as time expired before McKendree could get off another shot.
 
In the first half, the lead changed hands several times as well before McKendree was able to control the final six minutes of the period. The Bearcats scored eight of nine points to grab a 35-30 advantage with 5:33 remaining before intermission. McKendree increased the margin to six points on two different occasions down the stretch. Senior guard Nate Michael (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Ogden) hit two free throws inside the final minute of the half that gave the Bearcats a 44-38 cushion heading into the locker room.
 
Bahari Amaya led Illinois Springfield (14-12, 7-9 GLVC) with 20 points off the bench. Vince Walker added 19 points in a reserve role for the Prairie Stars, who held a 41-14 edge in bench scoring against McKendree.
 
McKendree won the first meeting this season between the two squads, 77-75, back on Jan. 5 in Springfield, Ill.