DePere, WI – The Prairie Fire couldn’t score on the final possession of the game and St. Norbert College escaped with a 60-58 win at home on Saturday.

Knox (3-11, 2-7 MWC) got within two on a pair of made free throws by senior Tanner Carlson (Annawan, IL, Annawan) with 13 seconds to play.  Carlson then fouled the Green Knights’ Jack Whalen, who missed the front end of a one-and-one from the line.

The Prairie Fire got the ball back with 11.2 seconds remaining and a chance to tie or take the lead.  However, the possession was an empty one for Knox and St. Norbert (9-5, 6-3 MWC) escaped with their third straight win and eighth in a row over the Fire.

The Prairie Fire led by as many as four points with 9:18 remaining in the first half while St. Norbert took a nine point lead at 25-16 at the 3:20 mark.  Junior Lukas Shaw (Portland, OR, U.S. Grant) scored the last two baskets of the half to trim the SNC lead to 25-20 at the break.

The Prairie Fire fought back from 39-27 lead by the Green Knights with 13:43 to play and tied the game at 44 apiece at the 9:10 mark.

The Fire tied the game again at 46-46 with 7:53 remaining, but St. Norbert never gave up the lead.

Knox chipped away at a 58-51 deficit with 1:39 left in the game with a 7-2 run, setting up the final possession of the contest.

The Fire shot 57 percent in the second half, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range, and 44 percent overall.  St. Norbert finished at 38 percent and made 8-of-20 from 3-point distance.

Senior Ben Wetherbee (Sydney, Australia, Woodstock) scored a season-high 17 points for Knox.  He drained 5-of-7 shots from behind the 3-point arc.  Shaw added 14 points while senior Joe Kozak (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South) and Carlson had 10 points each.

Paul Appleton led the Green Knights with 16 points.

The Prairie Fire returns home for a pair of Midwest Conference games on Friday and Saturday against Lawrence University and Beloit College.

Follow Prairie Fire athletics on Twitter