PALOS HILLS, IL - Prairie State fought valiantly for 40 minutes against the best team in the country. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as No. 1 Milwaukee Area Technical College defeated Prairie State 91-79 in the Region IV championship game on Saturday. 

The loss concluded the best season in program history as the Pioneers racked up 23 wins and a share of the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference championship. 

Prairie State (23-9) went punch for punch with the Stormers for the first half only trailing by three heading into halftime. However, after Will Mendez hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 42, the Stormers (31-1) went on a 19-2 run and the Pioneers never recovered. 

All-American nominee Jared Johnson was brilliant again for the Pioneers scoring a game-high 33 points and eight rebounds. He scored over 30 points in all three tournament games en route to All-Tournament Team honors. Sophomore guard Tyler Houston also was named to the All-Tournament Team. Houston gutted out a 17-point performance in the final game of his Pioneer career.

Humza Robinson was strong off the bench with 11 points and four steals. Breion Hill reached double digits with 10 rebounds and added two blocks.