The University of Illinois Springfield men’s basketball team defeated McKendree 78-61 Thursday at The Recreation and Athletic Center, but it still waited to learn its fate and if it qualified for the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
The UIS players were in the locker room and coach Ben Wierzba was conducting a radio interview as they waited for the score of a conference game between Truman State and Quincy. Truman State held off Quincy for an 89-85 victory and the Prairie Stars clinched the 12th and final berth for the tourney.
“The (assistants) were relaying messages while we were in the locker room,” UIS junior forward Dylan Sparkman said. “We were excited. We are glad to make the tourney. We kind of expected it because we knew Truman was a good team, but we were ready for the news.”
UIS and Quincy finish tied in the conference with 5-13 records. The Stars won the tiebreaker due to a 106-99 road win against the Hawks in January.
The win was featured by The State Journal-Register on February 28, 2014.
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