Galesburg, IL – Lawrence University held the Prairie Fire offense in check and came away with a 72-43 Midwest Conference win on Saturday at Memorial Gym.

The Vikings (7-8, 5-5) snapped a two-game losing streak.  After Lawrence scored the first four points of the game, senior Tyler Olson (Marengo, IA, Iowa Valley) put Knox (1-14, 1-9 MWC) on the board with a basket with 15:17 to go in the first half.

The Vikings went on a 12-0 run to increase a 4-2 lead to 16-2 at the 12:32 mark.  A pair of buckets by sophomore Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City/Avon) trimmed the Lawrence advantage to 16-6 with 9:55 before the break.

The Vikings answered with a 17-3 surge for a 33-9 lead – their biggest of the half -- about four minutes later.  Lawrence took a 39-17 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

The Prairie Fire had only six field goals in the first half (6-of-23, 26%) and went 1-of-13 from 3-point range while committing 12 turnovers.  The Vikings hit 15-of-39 (38.5%) shots, including five 3-pointers, and turned the ball over just three times.

Lawrence opened the second half with five straight points for a 44-17 lead.  The Vikings extended the lead to 30 points at 48-18 with 16:19 to play in the game.  The biggest lead of the game was 59-24 about five minutes later.

Knox got as close as 61-36 with 6:16 remaining following a 3-point basket and two free throws by junior Eric Miller (Villa Park, IL, Willowbrook).

The Prairie Fire improved to 43% shooting in the second half and 34% overall.  Lawrence shot 50% in the final 20 minutes and finished the game at 43% while sinking nine 3-pointers.

The Vikings swept the season series against Knox after also winning 81-66 on December 1 in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Senior Lukas Shaw (Portland, OR, U.S. Grant) and junior David Jones (Denver, CO, Colorado Academy) scored seven points apiece to lead Knox in scoring.

The Prairie Fire travels to Cornell College on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. tip.  The Rams (6-10, 5-6 MWC) lost at St. Norbert College 80-63 on Saturday.  The Green Knights rose to first place in the Midwest Conference with their ninth straight win combined with Grinnell College’s loss at Ripon College.

The game at Cornell will be streamed live at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/cornell.portal#

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