Beloit, WI – Beloit College used a big offensive surge at the midway point of the first half and went on to defeat the Prairie Fire 89-65 in Midwest Conference play on Saturday.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Buccaneers (11-10, 9-7 MWC), who improved to 8-3 at Flood Arena and sit in fifth place in the conference standings behind fourth place Ripon College.  The Red Hawks won their fifth straight game on Saturday, beating Illinois College 79-72 at home to move to 11-6 against league opponents.

Beloit scored the first four points of the game against Knox (1-20, 1-15 MWC).  The Prairie Fire knocked home their first bucket with 17:54 in the half on a 3-pointer by junior Eric Miller (Villa Park, IL, Willowbrook) that trimmed the deficit to 4-3.

The Buccaneers outscored Knox 14-6 over the next four minutes to extend their advantage to 18-9 at the 13:26 mark.  The Prairie Fire responded with six straight points on 3-point baskets by senior Tyler Olson (Marengo, IA, Iowa Valley) and sophomore Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City/Avon) and cut Beloit’s lead to 18-15 with 12:03 before the break.

After Beloit answered right back with a trey of its own to go up 21-15, Knox went on a 7-0 run – including five points by first-year Charlie Harned (Webster Groves, MO, Clayton) – to take a 22-21 lead with just under 10:00 to play in the half.

The Bucs quickly got the lead back at 23-22 on a jumper by James Lazarcik, followed by another basket by Harned for a 24-23 Prairie Fire advantage.

The tide turned in the next 4:30 as Beloit outscored Knox 17-4 and led 40-28 with 5:42 to go.

A 3-point play by Harned and a jumper by junior Chris McNichols (Skokie, IL, Niles West) brought the Prairie Fire back to within seven, 40-33, a little over a minute later.

The Bucs then held Knox to one field goal over the final 4:30 of the first half – a 3-pointer by sophomore Armand Stricklin (Lee Summit, MO, Lee Summit West) – while putting up 13 points during that stretch to take a 53-36 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Knox had a good shooting half, knocking down 13-of-26 (50%) from the floor – including 5-of-8 from 3-point distance.  However, Beloit was even hotter.  The Bucs hit 22-of-37 attempts (59.5%), four of them treys, and matched the Fire’s five made free throws. 

The teams also played a clean 20 minutes with only six turnovers and 11 fouls combined.

Beloit scored the first four points of the second half to extend the lead to 57-36.  Knox scored on a layup by senior Lukas Shaw (Portland, OR, U.S. Grant) 1:30 into the period followed by four more points by the Bucs and a 61-38 advantage with 17:36 left in the game.

An 11-4 run by the Prairie Fire closed the gap to 65-49 at the 11:58 mark, but Beloit responded by scoring 16 of the next 24 points to put the game out of reach at 81-57 with 5:42 remaining.

Knox was unable to match its strong first half shooting over the final 20 minutes.  The visitors made 9-of-31 (29%) shots in the second half (1-of-10 from long distance) to finish the game 22-of-57 (39%). 

Beloit stayed hot, shooting 14-of-24 (58%) in the second half and 36-of-61 (59%) overall.  The Bucs also outrebounded Knox 41-24.

The Prairie Fire didn’t give Beloit extra chances by making mistakes with the basketball.  Knox committed only seven turnovers in the game while the Bucs had just eight.

Junior David Jones (Denver, CO, Colorado Academy) led the Prairie Fire with 16 points and six rebounds.  He was 5-of-6 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the foul line against Beloit.  Jones has played well of late.  He’s averaging 15.3 points and 8.0 rebounds while making 52.5% of his shots and connecting on 83% from the free throw line in his last four games.

Harned added a career-high 14 points for Knox and Murphy also scored in double-figures with 12.

Tyler Butke led Beloit with 20 points.  Lazarcik, who is shooting 68.7% to lead NCAA Division III, had a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.  Butke and Lazarcik combined to shoot 16-of-22 (73%) in the game.

The Buccaneers swept the 2012-13 season series against the Prairie Fire.  Beloit won the first meeting 74-69 on December 8 at Memorial Gym and owns a seven-game winning streak against Knox.  The last Prairie Fire win against the Bucs was a 71-63 victory on December 5, 2009 at Memorial Gym.

Knox plays its final home game of the season against Illinois College on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.  The Blueboys (8-13, 5-11 MWC) have lost five straight games.   IC downed the Prairie Fire 78-62 on January 9 in Jacksonville.

Tuesday is also Senior and Parents Night at Memorial Gym.  Knox’s two seniors, Olson and Shaw – along with their parents, will be recognized prior to the game against Illinois College.

Live streaming will be available shortly before the tip-off at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/knox.portal#

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