SPRINGFIELD –Trailing by one with a little over four seconds to play, senior Brandon Farmer took an inbound pass and raced down the court hitting a buzzer beating 10 foot jumper to lift Illinois-Springfield past Lake Superior State 67-66 in the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge Friday night.
The contest between UIS (1-0) and LSSU (0-1) was a thriller from the start, as it featured eight lead changes and four ties. The Prairie Stars had a lead of 11 with 3:28 to play, while the Lakers had a seven point advantage early in the first.
After UIS opened the game with a six point lead, LSSU went on a 13-0 run, but a 10-2 push gave the Prairie Stars another advantage. UIS and LSSU had all four ties come in the first stanza, but nearing the end of the half Farmer nailed a three with 43 second to play giving the Prairie Stars a 34-31 lead.
Junior Lester Hart led UIS at intermission with 10 points, while Micah Hudson of LSSU had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
To open the second half, UIS kept bending but wouldn’t break, as the Lakers got the game within one several times. However, the Prairie Stars got hot and went on a 13-3 run, thanks in part to five LSSU turnovers.
After LSSU got its deficient into single digits late, it looked as though a three by senior Ryan Thorton with 3:28 left would be enough. The Lakers though caught fire and went on a 16-4 run, which was capped off on a lay-up by Khalid Wells with three seconds remaining.
UIS head coach Ben Wierzba then called timeout to set up the play for Farmer. The Lincoln, Ill., native shook loose a couple Laker defenders and with the clock nearing zero’s he hit a nearly open jumper.
For the game, sophomore Chigozie Umeadi had a team-best 18 points, while junior Lester Hart finished with 15. For LSSU, Hudson closed his evening with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Justin Williams grabbed 10 boards.
Saturday afternoon’s contest will tip-off at 3:15 p.m. with live stats on http://www.sidearmstats.com/uis/mbball
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