Box Score

Galesburg, Ill. – Carroll University's size and length prevented the Prairie Fire from getting on track in the second meeting between the teams in the last two weeks.

Carroll defeated the Prairie Fire 94-58 at home on January 4. The Pioneers and Knox both played solid defense in the first half, but a second half surge propelled Carroll to a 68-47 Midwest Conference victory over the Prairie Fire -- and a season sweep.

The Pioneers (9-6, 6-4 MWC) have won two straight games and five of their last six.

Knox (1-13, 0-9 MWC) forced a turnover on the Pioneers' opening possession and took an early 3-0 lead on the first of five 3-point baskets by senior Eric Miller (Villa Park, IL, Willowbrook).

Knox held the lead for almost three minutes before a trey put Carroll on top 5-3.  The Prairie Fire tied the game at 5 on a pair of Miller free throws at the 16:40 mark but never regained the lead.

Knox remained within one possession of the Pioneers when junior Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City) stuck a jumper to pull the hosts within 18-15 with 7:12 left in the opening half.

The Prairie Fire mustered only four more points and trailed Carroll 29-19 at halftime.

Knox connected on just 5-of-24 (21 percent) shots, but held the Pioneers to 10-of-27 (37 percent) shooting.  Half of Carroll's baskets were from 3-point distance while the Prairie Fire held a slight 7-4 advantage on made free throws.

Knox struck first again in the second half on a jumper by senior David Jones (Denver, CO, Colorado Academy/Air Force Academy), who the Pioneers bottled up most of the game, to bring the Prairie Fire to within eight points at 29-21.

Carroll responded with a 13-4 run to stretch the lead to 42-25 with just over 11 minutes to play.

Knox kept pace with the Pioneers over the next five minutes thanks to Miller's hot shooting from long distance and a pair of free throws that made it a 54-40 game with 5:19 remaining.

The Prairie Fire were unable to get any closer than 14 points the rest of the way. 

Kevin Hurd buried a triple and Andrew Nottling scored on a jumper for five quick points by Carroll that put the game out of reach.

Nottling, the Pioneers' top scorer on the season, was in foul trouble much of the first half.  He dropped in eight of his nine points in the second half during the decisive run by Carroll.

The Pioneers outscored Knox 39-28 over the final 20 minutes.

Miller hit 5-of-9 shots from 3-point range and poured in a career-high 21 points to lead the Prairie Fire.  He was the only Knox player to score in double-figures.

Hurd netted all four of his 3-point attempts and scored 18 points for the Pioneers.  Alec Molter added a double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds.

Knox travels to Appleton, Wisconsin next Saturday for the second matchup this season with Lawrence University (6-7, 4-4 MWC) at 1:00 p.m. The Vikings snapped a four-game slide and surprised Grinnell College 111-94 in a Midwest Conference game at Lawrence on Saturday.