Jacksonville, IL – The Prairie Fire and Illinois College were deadlocked for a half, but the Blueboys pulled away in the second half to claim a 70-56 Midwest Conference victory on Saturday at Sherman Gym.

The Prairie Fire (3-14, 2-10 MWC) played through foul trouble by senior Joe Kozak (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South) and junior Lukas Shaw (Portland, OR, U.S. Grant).  Both picked up two fouls before the halfway mark of the first half, yet Knox went into the break tied with IC 28-28.

Kozak made the most of his time on the floor offensively in the opening half, scoring 11 points in just eight minutes of action.

Both teams shot 37 percent in the first half.  Knox was 7-for-12 from the free throw line and IC was 5-for-7.

Illinois College (4-13, 2-10), which snapped a nine-game losing streak, made its move in the second half after Prairie Fire senior Ben Wetherbee (Sydney, Australia, Woodstock) sank a 3-pointer to force the 11th tie of the game at 46-46 with 12:30 to play.

The Blueboys scored five straight points for a 51-46 advantage and never trailed again.  Knox pulled within two at 58-56 on a Kozak jumper with 4:28 remaining, but IC scored 12 straight while holding the Fire without a point the rest of the way.

Illinois College knocked down 12-of-24 shots (50 percent) and 13-of-15 free throws in the second half.  Knox was 10-for-30 (33 percent) and sank 4-of-8 free throws.

Kozak led all scorers with 24 points and he added seven rebounds.  No other Prairie Fire player scored in double-figures.

IC was led by Zeke Light’s 16 points.

The Prairie Fire tries to put the brakes on a six-game slide on January 31 at Grinnell College.

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