Box Score

Galesburg, IL - The Prairie Fire fell behind early in the team's home opener against Ripon College and suffered a 78-51 defeat Friday night at Memorial Gymnasium.

The Red Hawks (4-0, 1-0 MWC), coming off of an 80-61 victory in their last game against Division III power Illinois Wesleyan, trailed the Fire 6-4 at the 18:12 mark of the first half before scoring 17 straight points over the next nine minutes.

Junior Ian Horvath (Addison, IL, Addison Trail) snapped the Ripon run with a 3-point basket with 9:15 left in the half.  A bucket nearly a minute later got the Prairie Fire (0-2, 0-1 MWC) within 10 at 21-11.  The Red Hawks built the lead back to 14 for a 38-24 halftime advantage.

Knox again cut the Ripon advantage to 10 points at 38-28 when junior Lukas Shaw (Portland, OR, U.S. Grant) scored in the post with 19:02 in the contest.  The Red Hawks followed with a 28-10 run to put the game out of reach at 66-38 with 11:07 remaining.

Ripon held the Prairie Fire to 33 percent shooting in the game while connecting on 43.5 percent. 

The Red Hawks, who got a game-high 24 points from senior Aris Wurtz, committed only seven turnovers while forcing the Fire into 15.  Wurtz came in averaging 28 points per game after a career-high 39-point effort against Illinois Wesleyan. Ripon also controlled the glass, outrebounding Knox 43-34 -- including 18 offensive boards.

Junior Joe Kozak (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South) led the Prairie Fire with 11 points and seven rebounds while Shaw added 10 points. 

The win marked a milestone for Ripon Coach Bob Gillespie.  He picked up the 500th victory of his 32-year coaching career, all of it spent with the Red Hawks.

Knox looks to regroup quickly as Carroll University visits Memorial Gymnasium for a Midwest Conference game Saturday afternoon.  The scheduled tip-off is at 4:00.

NOTES

Carroll University fell in its Midwest Conference opener Friday night at Lake Forest College 71-52.  The loss was the second straight for the Pioneers (1-2, 0-1 MWC), who were led in scoring by junior forward Dan Kratz and sophomore guard Kevin Hurd with 10 points each.

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