Free throws down stretch secure Prairie Stars’ victory

Team connects on 11 of 12 free throws in final five minutes of play

November 19, 2008
By Marcus Johnson
Sports Writer

Photo by David Clary Since opening up the season shooting 57.7 percent from the free-throw line, the Prairie Stars have shot on average 87.8 percent from the free-throw line in their last two wins against St. Ambrose and Trevecca Nazarene

The UIS men’s basketball team pulled off a tough win against the feisty Trojans of Trevecca Nazarene 77-67 last Saturday. The win puts them at a 3-0 overall record on the season. Trevecca Nazarene falls to 1-1.

The Prairie Stars started off very sluggish, with early foul trouble and not being able to connect on shots. The Trojans on the other hand came out firing against the Prairie Stars. Ralph Woodson had two early fouls by the 18:13 mark; one on the offensive end and one on the defensive side. Being down 10-4 at the 16:48 mark, the Prairie Stars started to full court press on the Trojans and got three steals on consecutive inbound passes and converted on them to tie the game at 10-10. From that point on, the basketball game became an actual game and not a one-sided contest for about ten minutes. Trevecca Nazarene then slipped out to a nine point lead with 4:19 to go. The Prairie Stars then decided to make it a game again. They rallied back from that nine point deficit and went into half time with a 44-43 lead with a lay-up by Kelvin Johnson with 23 seconds left in the half.

When the second half started, Trevecca Nazarene had the idea of trying to rebuild the lead and get out of Springfield with a win. The first ten minutes of the second half saw the Trojans slowly rebuild the lead up on the Prairie Stars. But the Prairie Stars weren’t going to go without a fight. They started to turn up the defensive pressure on the Trojans, and fought very hard to retake the lead at 60-59 with 8:56 remaining in the second half. From there on, they slowed the tempo and ran their half court offense. The Trojans continued to foul the Prairie Stars from this point on. At around the two minute mark, the Prairie Stars started to go to the free throw line 12 times, and connected on 11 of them. These 11 free throws put the game out of reach for the Trojans.

Jacob Motteler led the Prairie Stars in scoring with 22 points and also had six assists. Nick Livas had the lone double-double of the game for the Prairie Stars with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Kelvin Johnson was the third Prairie Star in double figures with 11 points. Brian Oduor led the Trojans with 23 points.