BELOIT, Wisconsin – The Prairie Fire men’s basketball team picked up a 58-47 victory at Beloit on Saturday afternoon. The Buccaneers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but a three-pointer by Cade Windham and a layup by Sean Gallery gave Knox a 5-4 advantage. Beloit then scored five straight to take a 9-5 lead, but the Prairie Fire finished the first half on an 18-7 run to take a 23-16 lead into halftime.
Knox continued to pull away in the second half, maintaining a double-digit lead for most of the rest of the game. Jordan Rayner led the Prairie Fire with 22 points. Gallery tallied 12 points and Matt Garife added 11 points.
“We played very well today,” said head coach Ben Davis. “Beloit has a very good defense and we scored well above the average against them this year. Hopefully we can use this as a jumping-off point for the rest of the season.” Knox returns to action on January 17 as they travel to Illinois College.
The Prairie Fire women’s basketball team moved to 6-0 in Midwest Conference with a 67-54 victory over Beloit on Saturday.
Knox jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first quarter and led 18-12 at the end of the period. The Buccaneers struck first in the second quarter, but the Prairie Fire took a 35-21 lead into halftime. Knox led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter, but Beloit chipped away at the lead and brought the game to within nine points early in the fourth quarter. The Prairie Fire regained their double digit lead and cruised to victory.
Catessa Duran led Knox with 14 points. She also grabbed four rebounds, picked up four steals, and dished out three assists. Sarina Dacio added 13 points and Sophie Elstone tallied 12 points. Kristin Herndon racked up eight points and nine rebounds as well.
“It was nice to be up from the get go this game,” said head coach Kira Mowen. “We have a tendency to get down early and then play well down the stretch. Today we played well the entire game and shut down Beloit’s late run.” Knox returns to action on January 17 as they travel to Illinois College.
