LIBERTY, Mo. - Down double digits with less than eight minutes to play on Thursday, the William Jewell men's basketball rallied to defeat Illinois Springfield 76-73 on Saturday afternoon in the Mabee Center. The Cardinals improve to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play while the Prairie Stars, who came into the game receiving votes in the national polls, drop to 11-5. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Jewell took an early four point lead after back-to-back threes from Mawutor Nogoson but the Prairie Stars responded and went back on top after a bucket from Jacob Hanna with less than six to go in the first half. 
• Another three, this one from Kanukayi Gudza, pushed the Cards back in front by four with less than a minutes to go but Hanna drove the length of the court and scored at the buzzer to send the teams to the locker rooms tied at 40. 
• Tied at 46 early in the second half, UIS outscored the Cardinals 18-8 over the next seven-plus minutes to open up a 64-54 advantage with under eight minutes to play. From there, the Cardinals put together a rally as Kobe McKinley scored 10 points over the next three minutes to get Jewell back in it before Isaac Patterson's three with four minutes remaining tied things up at 69. 
• Another three from McKinley gave Jewell their first lead since the 16:51 mark and he followed with a layup for added insurance. The Stars got back within one but Trey Shannon's two free throws secured the win. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• McKinley finished with a game high 27 points while Patterson added 18 and a team high eight rebounds and five steals. 
• Shannon also finished in double figures with 10. 
• Jewell shot 50% from the field and took advantage of 16 UIS turnovers that led to 24 points, while committing just seven turnovers themselves. 

UP NEXT
The Cardinals remain at home next week as they host Lewis at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night.