The Prairie Stars failed to come away with a win on the road against Kentucky Wesleyan Tuesday, extending their losing streak away from home to five.

The first half of the game was competitive, and the lead changed three times. The Stars shot 44.4 percent from the field, 80 percent from the line and made a whopping 7 out of 10 3-pointers. The rebounding margin was dead even, and despite some issues with turnovers, they trailed by only two points at the end of the half.

The second half was a different story, as both teams struggled to get their offense going. The Prairie Stars shot only 36.4 percent from the field, but managed to hold Kentucky Wesleyan to 39.9 percent. Kentucky Wesleyan recognized that allowing UIS to shoot 70 percent from deep was just not going to cut it, and their half-time adjustments to their perimeter defense completely shut down the UIS sharpshooters in the second half, allowing zero of six 3’s to drop.

The rebounding battle became a lopsided affair as well, and the Prairie Stars were out-rebounded 12 to 25, with Kentucky Wesleyan grabbing nine offensive rebounds to UIS’ one. With Kentucky Wesleyan missing 17 of their 28 shots from the field, the Stars had plenty of opportunities to collect some defensive boards, but were unable to get the job done. Kentucky Wesleyan had a slight edge at the free throw line in the second, knocking down 9 of 14 to The Prairie Stars’ 9 of 15, a woeful 64.3 percent and 60 percent, respectively. Despite winning the turnover battle 5 to 6 in the second half, the Stars had only two assists to Kentucky Wesleyan’s five.

UIS had difficulties protecting the rim throughout the game, recording 0 blocked shots, allowing 36 points in the paint, and 9 fast break points. The Kentucky Wesleyan bench outscored the UIS role players 32 to 22. Jacob Williams was the only Prairie Star that managed to reach double digits in scoring, with 15 points, converting 5 of 12 from the floor, 2 of 3 from 3-point range, and 3 of 3 from the foul stripe.

The Prairie Stars look to bounce back this Saturday and continue protecting home court against Robert Morris. The game starts at 3 p.m., and marks the beginning of a 4-game home stand.