Galesburg, IL – The Prairie Fire fought back after Illinois College raced out to a big lead but couldn’t get over the hump in a 91-79 Midwest Conference setback on Wednesday night.

IC scored the first 15 points of the game before first-year Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City/Avon) got the Prairie Fire on the board with a 3-pointer at the 15:43 mark to stop the run.

The Blueboys (5-15, 3-12 MWC took their biggest lead at 31-10 on a trey by Adam Varvil with 11:02 to play in the opening half.

The Prairie Fire spent the rest of the half chipping away at the IC lead.  Trailing 46-34 with 3:14 to play, Knox (3-18, 2-14 MWC) closed the half with a 7-3 run to trim the deficit to 49-41 at the intermission.

Illinois College and Knox both made eight 3-pointers and shot 54 percent in the first half.  IC had five more field goals after committing just two turnovers while the Prairie Fire was 5-for-11 at the free throw line.

Knox got as close as four at 53-49 with just over 17:00 to play on a basket by senior Tanner Carlson (Annawan, IL, Annawan).  However, IC’s Brandon Berry did his best to stop the Prairie Fire’s momentum by draining back-to-back 3-pointers, the second triple at the 16:11 mark, to push the Blueboy lead to 59-49.

A basket by senior Joe Kozak (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South) and a 3-pointer from junior Tyler Olson (Marengo, IA, Iowa Valley) on back-to-back possessions cut IC’s lead to 66-60 with 11:45 to go in the game. 

A three-point play by Isaac Grapperhaus about a minute later gave IC a 69-60 advantage, which grew to 11 at 73-62 on a jumper by Craig Bals with just under 10:00 remaining.

The Blueboys took their biggest lead of the half at 79-64 with 7:58 to play.  Knox got within seven points at 83-76 with 1:32 left in the game, but IC went 8-for-8 at the foul line the rest of the way to earn the win. 

Illinois College was nearly automatic from the free throw line in the second half, making 17-of-19 attempts and 20-of-23 (87 percent) overall.  The Prairie Fire did not fare well at the stripe, connecting on 8-of-18 (44 percent).

Knox shot 29-of-64 (45 percent) from the field in the contest, including 13-of-33 (39 percent) from 3-point range.  The 13 3-pointers was a season-high for the Fire.

 IC missed only five shots in the second half, knocking down 11-of-16 (69 percent), and finished 30-of-51 (59 percent).  The Blueboys were on the mark from long distance, sinking 11-of-22 shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

Four Knox players scored in double-figures.  Carlson led the way with 15 points.  He also had six assists without a turnover.  Sophomore David Jones (Denver, CO, Colorado Academy) added 13 points and six rebounds, Kozak had 12 points, and first-year Armand Stricklin (Lee Summit, MO, Lee Summit West) contributed 10 -- eight in the first half. 

The Prairie Fire bench outscored Illinois College’s 32-16.

Four of the five IC starters reached double-figure points.  Barry had a game-high 21 points and Zeke Light followed with 18.

Illinois College swept the season series against the Prairie Fire after a previous 70-56 win on January 28 at Sherman Gym.

Knox plays its final road game of the season on February 15 at Midwest Conference leader Lake Forest College (18-2, 14-1).  The Foresters have qualified, along with Grinnell College (17-3, 13-3 MWC), for the Midwest Conference Tournament.

The Prairie Fire concludes the season on February 18 at home against Monmouth College (5-15, 3-12 MWC).  Knox goes for a sweep of Monmouth after winning the first game at Glennie Gym 76-66 on January 7.

The Prairie Fire's five seniors and their parents will be recognized right before the tip-off of the game against the Fighting Scots as part of Senior and Parents Day.  The contest is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m.

Follow Prairie Fire athletics on Twitter