Complete Results
They battled hard, but clutch foul shooting by Rockford College and a big offensive night by forward Robert Malone were too much for the Prairie Fire to overcome as the Regents posted a 75-71 win Thursday night at Memorial Gym.
Malone, a 6'4" slasher who hurt the Fire with his ability to get to the basket and finish, played through foul trouble early in the second half en route to a 30-point, 13-rebound performance to help Rockford College (2-1) earn its second straight victory.
The Prairie Fire will try to regroup after back-to-back home losses -- one in overtime -- by a combined six points.
The Fire (1-2) got off to a good start, twice leading by seven points in the first half. Junior Tanner Carlson (Annawan, Illinois) buried a jumper with 10:03 to play before intermission to give his team a 23-16 advantage. The Regents responded by scoring the next 12 points for a 28-23 lead at the 5:47 mark.
The Prairie Fire answered right back. Junior Alex Schobert (Belleville, Illinois) hit two straight shots that sparked a 19-10 run to end the half and put Knox back on top 42-38.
The Prairie Fire shot 53 percent for the half, including 5-of-10 from three point range. Junior Ben Wetherbee (Sydney, Australia) had his best offensive half of the season, scoring 13 of his 16 points during that span and connecting on 3-of-6 from long distance. Malone led the Regents with 20 points and eight rebounds at the break.
The Prairie Fire on two occasions early in the second half extended the lead back to seven -- 49-42 (17:56) and 53-46 (15:48) -- followed by Malone picking up his fourth foul and going to the bench with 15:42 to play.
Rockford freshman Tory Minnifield and junior Paul Hall picked up the slack while Malone sat. The two combined to score six unanswered points to cut the Prairie Fire lead to 53-52.
Another run by the Fire -- a score by junior Joe Kozak (Park Ridge, Illinois) and two straight buckets by sophomore Lukas Shaw (Portland, Oregon) -- again expanded the lead to seven points. The Regents, however, took advantage of two Knox turnovers and a pair of missed shots by scoring eight straight points in a 90 second stretch to take a 60-59 lead with 9:34 to play.
The game went back-and-forth from there before Rockford took the lead for good at 70-69 on the first of two free throws by Hall, who made 8-of-8 from the stripe.
Rockford's free throw shooting was key to the victory. The Regents made 16-of-24 foul shots in the game, including 12-of-16 in the second half. The Prairie Fire shot well from the line, but didn't get there enough -- finishing 7-of-9. Knox also committed 23 turnovers, 13 of them after halftime. Rockford had 15 miscues.
Hall and Minnifield joined Malone in double-figures and combined to shoot 11-of-16. Hall had 21 points while Minnifield scored 14 to go along with seven rebounds and four steals.
Shaw was a force inside for the Prairie Fire, scoring 22 points -- 14 in the second half -- and grabbing eight rebounds before fouling out with 5:00 to play in the game. Carlson added 14 points and six assists followed by Kozak's eight points and team-high 11 rebounds.
The Fire heads out on the road for the next four games, all Midwest Conference contests. The first is at Ripon on December 3 at 7:00 p.m. The Red Hawks, picked by the MWC coaches to finish second in the league behind St. Norbert College, enter the game with a 2-1 record. The loss, an 82-74 setback, was November 20 at nationally ranked Illinois Wesleyan.
