Complete Results
A game that featured about everything a basketball fan could ask for was on display Thursday night at Memorial Gymnasium on Tim Heimann Court Thursday night as the Prairie Fire battled Central College - a game of runs, big plays and sensational performances. Ultimately two made free throws were the difference as the Dutch escaped with an 81-79 victory in overtime.
Central (1-1) got off to a quick start offensively, grabbing a 12-4 lead with 14:32 to play in the first half. The eight point lead was the biggest Central would have in the game. The Fire responded over the next seven minutes and took the lead for the first time at 21-20 when junior Joe Kozak (Park Ridge, Illinois) scored inside.
Kozak, who scored a game-high 28 points and led everyone with 14 rebounds, added a three-point basket and a layup while senior Roger Ortiz (Houston, Texas) was instrumental as well, coming off the bench in the first half to score seven points in five minutes to help the Prairie Fire put together a 17-9 run over the final 7:11 to grab a 38-29 lead, its biggest of the game, at halftime.
Central weathered the storm and answered over the first 6:30 of the second half with an 18-8 run of its own to reclaim the lead at 47-46 with 13:30 to play. The Prairie Fire (1-1), led by three straight Kozak baskets in 90 seconds, to grab a 52-47 lead at the 12:00 mark of the game.
The Knox offense hit a lull after the run, going scoreless for about a six-minute stretch, and the Dutch took advantage. Central led 66-60 with 1:30 to play, but Knox - behind junior Tanner Carlson (Annawan, Illinois) - refused to go away.
Carlson drained a three-point shot to cut the Central lead to 66-63, scored on a lay-in with 41 seconds to cut the deficit to three again after Demarco Turner on the previous Dutch possession found the basket and gave his team a 68-63 lead. After the Fire defense held on the next Central possession, Knox got the ball back and Carlson was fouled as he drove to the basket and scored to cut the Central lead to one at 68-67 with 26 seconds left in regulation. He made the free throw to convert the conventional three-point play and Central, with a chance to win, came up empty on its last possession to send the game into overtime tied at 68.
Central's Brock Caves drained a jumper to put his team up 70-68 to start the extra period. Carlson connected on two free throws to tie the game at 70. The Fire took its only lead of the OT session, 73-71, when Kozak hit his fourth three-pointer of the night. Caves tied the game on a layup with 3:05 to play followed by a Prairie Fire turnover that Central converted into a James Chapline basket that gave the Dutch a 75-73 lead. Sophomore Ian Horvath made it 75-75 on a tip-in basket for Knox.
Jack Bruns, a 6'5" 250 pound force inside, scored the next four points for the Dutch sandwiched between two made free throws by Carlson for a 79-77 Central lead. Bruns scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 41 minutes of action.
Kozak had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line, but his first shot went halfway down and spun out. He made his second attempt to cut the deficit to one at 79-78. On the ensuing possession, Turner received the inbounds pass as the Prairie Fire tried to come up with a steal on the press and was fouled. He knocked down both free throws for an 81-78 lead.
Central’s Adrian Cave fouled Carlson with .5 seconds left in OT. Carlson made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second as Knox tried to tip in the rebound, but the play didn't work out and the Dutch picked up their first win of the season.
Carlson was huge for the Prairie Fire in the second half and overtime, scoring 15 of his 19 points during that 25 minute stretch. He scored eight points in the last 1:20 of regulation to keep the Fire alive and made five free throws in overtime. First-year forward David Jones (Denver, Colorado) contributed eight points and seven rebounds for the hosts and senior Matt Goedeke (Yates City, Illinois) scored seven points.
Besides Bruns, three other Central players scored in double figures. Turner had 18, including four three-point buckets, Chapline finished with 14 points and seven rebounds and Caves had 10 points.
The Prairie Fire, after shooting 50 percent in the first half, cooled off a bit in the second half and overtime and finished at 43 percent. Knox made 7-of-14 three-point shots and connected on 14-of-17 from the free throw line. After shooting just 33 percent in the first half, Central made 56 percent of its shots in the second half and hit 5-of-8 in the extra frame to finish at 47 percent. The Dutch helped the Prairie Fire by missing 13 of 32 free throw attempts.
The Fire has another non-conference game at home before going out on the road to play four Midwest Conference teams, beginning with highly touted and nationally ranked Ripon College December 3 and St. Norbert College at the end of the trip December 11, the latter squad also nationally ranked and deemed by the MWC coaches as the league favorite.
Rockford College comes to town November 24 for a date with the Prairie Fire. The game starts at 5:00 p.m.
The Regents lost their season opener to Clarke College 96-72 Wednesday night in Dubuque, Iowa. Rockford plays at Eureka College Saturday before visiting Memorial Gymnasium. The Prairie Fire beat the Red Devils handily - 75-60 - in the season opener for both squads last Tuesday night in Galesburg.
