SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The William Jewell men's basketball team shot 56% from the floor in the opening half on Thursday on their way to a 20-point victory, 78-58, on the road at Illinois Springfield. The win moves the Cardinals to 11-16 overall and 8-11 in conference play. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Illinois Springfield started strong on the glass, grabbing six offensive rebounds in the first six minutes, but the Cardinals settled and went on a 27-9 run, capped by back-to-back three pointers from Jason Thirdkill, Jr. to open up an 18-point lead with under three to play in the half. The Stars scored the final four points of the half but Jewell led at the break, 38-24. 
• UIS came out of the intermission and cut the lead down to 10 but Jewell continued to make shots and keep the home team at bay. Leading by 11 midway through the second half, the Cardinals got consecutive triples followed by a Kanukayi Gudza layup to push the lead to 19. The Prairie Stars made a small rally late to pull back with 14 but a Jordan Jermain three gave Jewell their largest lead of the day at 22 as the Cards cruised to a 78-58 win. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Jewell shot 53% for the game, including 12-of-26 from three, while holding UIS to just 24% from downtown. 
• Thirdkill, Jr. led four players in doulbe figures with 18 points while Luke Jordan added 16, Jermain 15, and Gudza 13 to go with a team high six rebounds and five assists. 
• The Cardinals forced 15 turnovers that turned into 19 points. 

UP NEXT
Jewell will wrap up the regular season on Saturday with a rematch with Truman State at 3 p.m.