Box Score

Monmouth, Ill. – Monmouth College built a big first half lead and beat the Prairie Fire 93-76 in Midwest Conference play on Tuesday.

The Fighting Scots broke open a close game with a 9-0 run that resulted in a 25-13 lead with about 11:00 remaining in the first half.  Knox scored on back-to-back baskets by junior Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City) to cut the deficit to eight at the 9:17 mark.

Monmouth (6-15, 5-11 MWC) ran off five straight points for the biggest lead of the game, 32-17, a little over a minute later.  The Prairie Fire answered again when Murphy hit a jumper and first-year Mike Martin (Metamora, IL, Metamora) netted two straight buckets, including a 3-pointer with 6:11 to go, to trim the Scots' advantage to 32-24.

Monmouth followed suit with a 7-0 run to go up 39-24 with 4:50 left in the half.

Knox (1-19, 0-15 MWC) scored on a pair of free throws by senior David Jones (Denver, CO, Colorado Academy/Air Force Academy) before the hosts used an 11-2 surge over the final four minutes to take a 50-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Fighting Scots shot 60 percent and forced 15 Prairie Fire turnovers in the opening half.  Knox connected on 48 percent from the field.

Monmouth held a 26-6 scoring edge in the paint and a 21-7 advantage in points off of turnovers.

The Scots extended their lead to 73-42 with 10:54 to play.  Knox didn't quit and closed the gap to 16 on a 3-point play by junior Armand Stricklin (Lee's Summit, MO, Lee's Summit West) with about 4:30 remaining.  Monmouth foiled any hopes of a Prairie Fire comeback by scoring five unanswered points to put the game out of reach.

The Fighting Scots swept the season series after taking the first game against Knox 74-70 at Memorial Gym on December 10.

Monmouth shot 59 percent overall and sank 9-of-18 shots from 3-point range.  The Prairie Fire shot 57 percent after halftime and finished at 53 percent – including 7-of-16 from beyond the arc.

Murphy led Knox in scoring with 14 points off the bench.  Jones also reached double-figures with 12 points to go with seven rebounds.  First-year Robert Suntken (Naperville, IL, Naperville Central) added 11 points and two steals, Stricklin chipped in with 10 points, and Martin scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Cole Jackson of Monmouth led all scorers with 24 points.

The Prairie Fire resume play against Beloit College on Saturday at Memorial Gym.  The game, part of Knox Basketball Homecoming 2014, is scheduled to tip off at 3:00 p.m.