Galesburg, IL – Carroll University used a pair of big runs to break open a close game early and defeat the Prairie Fire 91-51 in Midwest Conference play on Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium.

The Pioneers (11-3, 7-2 MWC), with their fourth straight win, remain in a three-way tie for first place in the Midwest Conference with Grinnell College and St. Norbert College -- who also won their games on Saturday afternoon.

Knox (1-13, 1-8 MWC) and Carroll were tied twice and the lead changed hands four times in the first four minutes of their game.

A Prairie Fire basket by first-year Javaka Thompson (Chicago, IL, Whitney Young) forced an 8-8 tie at the 15:52 mark.  The Pioneers, however, responded with a pair of big runs, 11-0 – which sophomore Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City/Avon) snapped with a 3-pointer with 10:42 before the break – followed by eight straight points to take a 37-11 lead with just under 7:00 left in the first half.

The teams played basically even over the final 7:00 as Carroll outscored Knox 18-15 to lead 55-26 at halftime.

The Pioneers were red hot with their shooting in the first half, knocking down 25-of-36 (69%) attempts.  The Prairie Fire made just seven field goals, connecting on 23% from the floor and sank 8-of-10 free throws.

A jumper by junior David Jones (Denver, CO, Colorado Academy) 1:19 into the second half pulled Knox within 29 points at 57-28.  The Prairie Fire would get no closer the rest of the game as Carroll continued its hot shooting and stingy defense.

The Pioneers shot 56% in the second half and finished at 63.5% while Knox fared only a little better over the final 20 minutes at 28% and wound up shooting 25% overall.

Murphy was the only Prairie Fire player to score in double-figures with 10 points.  Senior Lukas Shaw (Portland, OR, U.S. Grant) added eight points and a team-high nine rebounds and Thompson chipped in with eight points and six boards.

Alec Molter made nine of his 10 shot attempts and finished with game-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds for Carroll.

Knox tries to regroup on January 19 at home against Lawrence University at 3:00 p.m.  The Vikings (6-7, 4-4 MWC) defeated the Prairie Fire 81-66 the first time the teams met on December 1 in Appleton, Wisconsin.

The game will be streamed live on the Web at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/knox.portal#

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