Complete Results

Despite efforts to put the Prairie Fire men's basketball team away, #6 ranked St. Norbert College still found itself in a battle 30 minutes into the game on its home court Saturday afternoon.  That's when a player who saw limited time on the court in the first half helped fuel the charge that led to a 65-42 Green Knights victory.

The Fire hung close with St. Norbert (6-1, 3-1 MWC) during most of the first half.  The teams were tied twice and Knox led on three occasions, the last time at 11-10 with 12:04 to play.  A jumper by junior Tanner Carlson (Annawan, Illinois) cut the Knights' lead to 21-17 at the 3:12 mark.  SNC held the Prairie Fire (1-6, 0-4 MWC) scoreless the rest of the half while making a pair of free throws and connecting on a three point shot for a 26-17 advantage at the intermission.

The Fire responded with five straight points -- a three by first-year forward David Jones (Denver, Colorado) and a jump shot by junior Ben Wetherbee (Sydney, Australia) -- to cut the deficit to 26-22 with 18:33 to play in the game.

St. Norbert scored eight unanswered points for its first double digit lead, 34-22 at the 16:03 mark.  Knox again worked to get back into the game and cut the deficit to seven, 43-36 with 10:34 to go.

The key stretch of the game followed as the Knights put together a 16-3 run that expanded their lead to 59-39 at the 3:02 mark.  Chris Peterson -- who played just four minutes and didn’t score in the first half -- made three free throws, a layup and a three point basket for eight of his 14 second half points during the deciding seven-plus minute stretch.  Knox could only muster three made free throws during that time.

Besides the big offensive push, St. Norbert had just five turnovers -- all of them in the first half.  The Knights finished the game shooting 24-of-59 (41 percent), including 7-of-21 from three point range, and 10-of-18 from the foul line.

The Prairie Fire connected on 15-of-51 shots (29.4 percent) against the tough St. Norbert defense.  Knox won the rebounding battle 40-34.

Peterson led SNC in scoring.  David Wipperfurth also reached double figures with 10 points.

Wetherbee paced the Prairie Fire with 14 points.  Four of his five baskets were from long distance.  Jones added nine points and six rebounds while junior Joe Kozak (Park Ridge, Illinois) had seven points and seven rebounds.

The Fire returns home briefly after a four game road trip that ended at St. Norbert.  Coach Rob Purlee's squad hosts Lawrence University (3-2, 2-0 MWC) Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.  The Vikings have won three straight games after dropping their first two.  The two MWC victories were at home against Illinois College (100-79) and Lake Forest College (62-60).

The Prairie Fire plays in Hawaii December 19 against Edgewood College (2 a.m. Central) and the University of Dubuque (10 p.m. Central).