Galesburg, Ill. – The Prairie Fire basketball teams are looking add a little more cheer to the holiday season and begin the new year feeling good about themselves.

The Knox men's and women's squads square off against their counterparts from Beloit College tonight in a pair of Midwest Conference road contests.  The men's game tips off at 5:30 p.m. followed by the women's game at approximately 7:30 p.m.  Live video streaming of both games is available by clicking here

The Prairie Fire are playing their final games of 2013, and both squads will try to put the brakes on losing streaks.

The Knox men's team (1-8, 0-4 MWC) suffered its seventh straight loss, 80-67 at MSOE on Monday night.  Junior Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City) scored a team-high 16 points while senior David Jones (Denver, CO, Colorado Academy/Air Force Academy) added 13 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks.

The Knox women's squad (1-7, 0-4 MWC) fell to Lawrence University 93-92 at Memorial Gym on December 14.  The painful defeat was the seventh in a row for the Prairie Fire.  Junior Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) scored 22 points to lead four Knox players in double-figures.  Senior Chantal Heckman (Chicago, IL, Latin) contributed 16 points, junior Jessica Howard (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) had 13, and sophomore Jamie Blue (Urbana, IL, University) added 12.

KNOX VS. BELOIT (MEN) PREGAME NOTES

Beloit (2-5, 1-3 MWC) snapped a five-game slide with a 78-76 win at Lake Forest College on December 10.  The Buccaneers held a slim 38-37 lead over the Foresters at halftime.  Beloit took the lead for good at 60-58 with 8:47 to play.  James Lazarcik had a double-double for the Bucs with 23 points and 12 rebounds while Steve McAfee scored 13 points.  Beloit shot 49 percent in the game while holding Lake Forest to 43 percent.

McAfee is third in the Midwest Conference in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game, and he's shooting 58.8 percent from the field – which ranks sixth in the league.  Lazarcik averages 16 points (#11 MWC), is second in the conference in rebounding with 7.1 per game, and his 63.8 percent field goal percentage is third in the MWC.

Jones leads Knox in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage.  He's averaging 12.6 points 6.1 rebounds (#10 MWC), while shooting 55.9 percent (#10 MWC) from the field and 87.5 percent (#7 MWC) from the free throw line.  Murphy is second on the team in scoring at 9.6 points per game and is the leader in 3-point baskets with 12.  Senior Eric Miller (Villa Park, IL, Willowbrook) has made 90 percent of his free throws, the third-highest percentage in the conference.

Knox is averaging 65.2 points per game, which is last in the Midwest Conference.  However, the Prairie Fire have connected on 48 buckets from behind the 3-point line while the Buccaneers have hit 26 and rank 10th in the MWC in 3-point defense – allowing opponents to shoot 41.3 percent.  Beloit is last in the conference in free throw shooting at 65.7 percent.

KNOX VS. BELOIT (WOMEN) PREGAME NOTES

Beloit ended a two-game skid with a 74-63 win at Lake Forest on December 10.  The Bucs shot 52 percent in the first half and led by as many as 17 points before the Foresters trimmed the deficit to 45-33 at the intermission.  Lake Forest nearly came all the way back and trailed by just two (65-63) with 1:51 left in the game.  Beloit closed on a 9-0 run – including seven points from the foul line – to hang on for the victory.  Lana Wieseman had a big game for the Bucs with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks.  Laura Panicali added 12 points and five boards, and last season's MWC scoring leader – Lauren McNanna – finished with 11 points.

Wieseman is third in the conference in scoring at 16.3 points per game followed by McNanna – who is fifth in the MWC – with a 15.6 scoring average.  Nora Polaski is pulling down 7.1 rebounds per game to lead Beloit, which ranks seventh in the league.  Wieseman is eighth in the MWC with 7.0 rebounds per game and leads the conference in blocks with 1.4 per game.  McNanna is a dangerous 3-point shooter who is making 2.4 treys per game, the second-most in the MWC.  She and Wieseman are also shooting over 80 percent from the foul line.

Heckman is the leading scorer for the Prairie Fire at 13.8 points per game, which ranks ninth in the Midwest Conference.  She's been hot lately, averaging 18 points and making 22-of-23 (95.7 percent) free throws over her last four games.  Heckman leads the league in free throw shooting at 93.8 percent.  Marver is next on the team in scoring at 13 points per game, good for 10th in the conference.  Howard is the top 3-point shooter in the MWC with 21 and an average of 2.6 per game.

Knox is averaging league-highs of 85.8 points and 8.5 baskets from 3-point range per contest.  The Prairie Fire rank second in steals per game (11.4), turnover margin (+6.75), and offensive rebounds per game (16.6).  Knox has struggled on the glass.  Opponents hold a +20 rebounding edge per game on the Prairie Fire.

Beloit is shooting an exceptional 76.8 percent from the free throw line, #1 in the conference.  The Bucs also own the best 3-point shooting percentage (32.9 percent).  Beloit, however, is last in the MWC in turnover margin (-7), 3-point shooting defense (37.1 percent), steals per game (5.3), and offensive rebounds per game (9.6).

Knox defeated Beloit twice during the 2012-13 season.  The Prairie Fire won the first game 100-90 at home and posted a 108-103 victory at Beloit.

Follow Prairie Fire athletics on Twitter and Facebook