The University of Illinois Springfield took a history-making victory on Sunday as the Prairie Stars upset victory over Truman State 78-72 in the first round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament at Pershing Arena.
UIS senior guard Regan Bruenger poured in a career-high 25 points and was 8-for-14 from the field as the 12th-seeded Prairie Stars (10-17) won a see-saw battle against the No. 5 Bulldogs (20-7).
It was the Stars’ first GLVC tournament victory after they suffered first-round losses each of the last two years.
“We guarded,” UIS coach Ben Wierzba said. “We made them work for everything they had to get. We rebounded the ball really well. It was a complete effort. Everybody gave us something and it was all positive.”
UIS advanced to a quarterfinal against defending national champion Drury, 24-2 and ranked fifth in the NCAA Division II poll, at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. Drury defeated UIS 66-59 in a GLVC contest Feb. 8.
The win was reported by The State Journal-Register on March 3, 2014.
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