The Dominican University men's basketball team dropped the title game of the 2017 Bill Merris Classic, falling to the host Illinois College Blueboys on Saturday evening 90-71.  The Stars, now 1-1 on the season, hoisted 30 attempts from three-point distance, connecting on just eight in the losing effort.
 
Illinois College used a 10-0 run that spanned two and a half minutes to turn a one-point lead into an 11-point lead, 25-14, with 11:16 to play in the first half and never looked back.
 
The Blueboys shot better than 55-percent, 30-for-54, leading by as many as 25 along the way.
 
Tim Robertson paced the Stars in the losing effort, dropping in 19 points on 5-for-14 shooting and going 9-for-12 at the foul line.
 
For the Blueboys, Brady Hays dropped in 24 points to lead four in double-figures.  Hays shot 8-for-14 from the field, including connecting on five of eight attempts from behind the three-point stripe.
 
The Stars will have a week to regroup, opening Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play next Saturday at MSOE in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.