Waukesha, WI – Carroll University used a big early in the second half and defeated the Prairie Fire 95-61 on Saturday.

The Pioneers (17-6, 13-5) won for the third straight time and return to the Midwest Conference Tournament later this month as the #3 seed after qualifying a year ago as the #4 seed.  Carroll won the tournament championship in 2012 for the second time in school history and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.  The Pioneers won their first round game before bowing out in the second round.

Carroll was the first #4 seed to win the MWC tourney championship since the conference moved to the current tournament format in the 1998-99 season.

Senior Lukas Shaw (Portland, OR, U.S. Grant) scored two straight baskets to give Knox (1-22, 1-17 MWC) its biggest lead at 17-12 with 11:19 in the first half.  The Pioneers followed six straight points for an 18-17 advantage.

Sophomore Armand Stricklin (Lee Summit, MO, Lee Summit West) sank two free throws with 9:33 before the break and the Prairie Fire reclaimed the lead at 19-18.  Andrew Nottling scored on a layup on Carroll’s next possession and the hosts led 20-19.

The back-and-forth half, which featured 12 ties and eight lead changes, continued when sophomore Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City/Avon) made two free throws a minute after Knox led 18-17 to put the Prairie Fire back on top 21-20. 

The Pioneers made their first big run of the half by scoring seven straight points for a 27-21 lead at the 7:23 mark.  Knox fought back with a 13-7 surge, the last two points on free throws by junior David Jones (Denver, CO, Colorado Academy), to force a 34-34 tie with 3:24 in the first half.

Carroll blanked the Prairie Fire 12-0 over the final 3:00 and led 46-34 at halftime.

The Pioneers made 17-of-28 shots (61%), including a 3-of-7 effort from 3-point range, and hit 9-for-12 free throws  in the first 20 minutes of the contest.

Knox, meanwhile, shot 10-of-28 (36%) and missed 9-of-11 attempts from beyond the arc.  The Prairie Fire stayed within striking distance by going 12-for-12 from the foul line.

Shaw and junior Eric Miller (Villa Park, IL, Willowbrook) together had 23 of the 34 first half points scored by Knox.  Miller dropped in 13 points and Shaw 10 as the two combined to knock down 8-of-11 shot attempts.

Carroll had four players score in double-figures in the first half, led by Alec Molter with 14 points.   He made all five of his shot attempts was 4-for-6 shooting free throws.  Dan Kratz also had a big first half for the Pioneers with 13 points and six rebounds.

The Prairie Fire cut the Carroll lead to nine points on three occasions in the second half, the last time at 51-42 on a bucket by Shaw with 17:17 remaining.

The Pioneers regained a double-digit lead, 53-42, on a layup by Kratz with 16:55 to play.  The basket was the start of an 18-0 run that ended when Molter scored from inside to extend the advantage to 69-42 with 9:50 left to play.

The Prairie Fire cut the deficit to 82-59 on two free throws by Shaw with 4:41 left in the game.  Knox was unable to get any closer the rest of the way.

Carroll held a 26-8 edge over Knox on points off turnovers  and scored 15 second chance points to just two for the Prairie Fire.  Carroll committed 11 turnovers and Knox had 16.  The Pioneers also outrebounded the Fire 41-28, including 12 on the offensive end that played a role in the disparity in second chance points.

Carroll did most of its damage on offense from inside, outscoring Knox 52-24 in the paint.

The Pioneers shot 54% in the second half and were 36-of-63 overall (57%).   Carroll was efficient from 3-point range, hitting 5-of-11 attempts (45.5%), and made 18-for-28 (64%) free throws.

Knox shot 37% in the second half and sank 20-of-55 attempts (36%) in the game – including 5-of-20 from behind the 3-point line.  The Prairie Fire had another strong game from the foul line, 16-for-17 (94%), after sinking 15-for-18 (83%) in the previous game at Beloit College.

Shaw scored a team-high 18 points and pulled down five rebounds in his last game for Knox.  Miller was 5-of-6 shooting and added 17 points.  He scored in double-figures in three of his last four games, including a career-high 18 points against Monmouth College. 

The Prairie Fire’s other senior, Tyler Olson (Marengo, IA, Iowa Valley), had three points and three rebounds in his final college basketball game.

Molter led Carroll with 14 points, Kratz added 13, Nottling 12 points off the bench and Jake Bast added 11.  The four scored all of their points in the first half as the Pioneers used 14 players and all but one scored in the game.  Carroll’s bench outscored the Knox reserves 46-10.

St. Norbert College (18-5, 15-3 MWC), the favorite in the 2012-13 Midwest Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll, won the regular season title.  The Green Knights’ 70-68 victory at Illinois College coupled with a 114-106 loss by Grinnell College (17-5, 14-4 MWC) at Lawrence University on Saturday enabled St. Norbert to win its third regular season league title in the past four seasons and fifth overall.

St. Norbert is the #1 seed, Grinnell the #2 seed, Carroll the #3 seed, and Ripon College (13-10, 11-7 MWC) the #4 seed in the Midwest Conference Tournament.  St. Norbert will host the tourney, which will be held on February 22 and 23.  The winner earns the MWC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

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