SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Purdue Northwest suffered its second straight overtime loss with Sunday's 78-68 setback at Illinois Springfield in a game that featured 11 lead changes.
 
PNW (3-9) carried the lead for 10-plus minutes in the second half, but a late three by UIS forced overtime. The Pride also came up short in overtime in their last outing, a 93-91 defeat against Davenport last weekend.
 
HEAD COACH BOOMER ROBERTS:
"It was the second game in a row where we had a three-point lead, and the ball, with a minute to go in regulation. We're putting ourselves in great position to win, but obviously we're struggling to finish. Everyone in the locker room is hurting.
 
Everything in life worth doing is uphill. Adversity doesn't scare our staff and it doesn't scare our players. We'll keep showing up and putting in the work. Lots of basketball left and our best is ahead of us."
 
How it happened: Caleb Zurliene's (Breese, Ill./Mater Dei) layup put PNW ahead 61-56 with six minutes to go in regulation as the Pride seemed to have control of the momentum. Then, both teams struggled on the offensive end in a physical matchup typically found in Midwest Region games.
 
UIS (4-6) climbed back to make it a one-point game, but Mikell Cooper's (Milwaukee, Wis./Bradley Tech) layup with a minute left gave PNW a 64-61 lead. The Pride got a defensive stop and had the ball with 30 seconds remaining, but a missed jumper led to a game-tying three by UIS's Chris Hamil. The Pride had the final possession in regulation but were unable to get a shot off.
 
UIS rode the wave of energy gained from Hamil's big shot into the overtime period, where the Prairie Stars outscored the Pride 14-4. The first bucket of OT gave UIS its first lead of the game since the 13-minute mark of the second half. Hamil led the hosts with a game-high 26 points and six steals.
 
After trailing 38-31 at halftime, the Pride were able to get back in the game with a 10-0 run over the opening five minutes out of the break. Irvin's third trey of the night put the Pride in front 41-38 for PNW's first lead since 3:48 in the first half.
 
Cooper and Kai Steinman (Champaign, Ill./Ben Davis) each scored 15 points to lead PNW in scoring. Cooper filled the stat sheet with five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Anthony Irvin (Chandler, Ariz./Corona Del Sol) and Zurliene also reached double figures in the scoring column. Irvin had 10 points and eight boards, while Zurliene finished with 10 points, six rebounds, three steals and one block. Anthony Barnard (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) chipped in with nine points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
 
UP NEXT
PNW is off for the Holiday Break and will return to action on New Year's Day when it travels to Parkside. The Pride will play three straight road games after the break, before returning to the Fitness & Recreation Center on Thursday, Jan. 13.

FOLLOW THE PRIDE
For all the latest information on Purdue Northwest men's basketball, please visit PNWathletics.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Pride (@pnwathletics & @PNWBasketball) on Twitter. You can also find the Pride on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.