Five in Double Figures Lead UIS

SPRINGFIELD – Senior Brandon Farmer was nearly flawless for the Illinois-Springfield men’s basketball team, as he didn’t miss a shot and scored a season-high 16 points in Saturday afternoon’s 95-52 victory over Eureka.

The Prairie Stars (4-5) opened fast on a 35-8 run and held Eureka without a point for over six minutes. UIS would then push its lead to 35 after a freshman Brandon Snowden lay-up with 3:42 to play.

During the first 20 minutes, the Prairie Stars dominated every facet of the game, scoring 22 points in the paint, 27 off of turnovers and the bench would add 25. UIS also shot 61 percent from the field and had just three turnovers.

Opening the second half, Eureka got its deficit under 30 (62-33), but the Prairie Stars quickly put the hammer down. UIS answered back with a 31-4 run, as the defensive pressure forced five turnovers and kept the Red Devils (0-9) off the board for over four minutes.

For the game, the Prairie Stars forced EC into 29 turnovers and held the Red Devils to a 40 percent shooting evening. UIS, meanwhile, connected on 49 percent of its shots and dished off 27 assists, as sophomore Keith Smith had a career-high nine assists.

Individually, junior Michael Fakuade had his fifth straight double-double, as he scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Junior Jermaine Love-Roberts, along with seniors Kendall Burrage and Steffen Spinks also scored in double figures. Love-Roberts led the trio with 12 points, while Burrage and Spinks had 11 and 10 respectively.

The next action for UIS is Sunday, Jan. 2, when it hosts GLVC foe Indianapolis at 3:00 p.m.