Box Score

Galesburg, Ill. – Beloit College broke open a close game during a five minute stretch in the second half and defeated the Prairie Fire 65-44 on Saturday at Memorial Gym.

Knox and Beloit were tied six times and the lead changed hands on three occasions in the first half.  The Buccaneers held their biggest lead at 9-4 at the 13:28 mark while Knox came back to grab an 18-15 edge with 8:28 left before the break.

Beloit (9-12, 7-9 MWC) tied the game at 19-19 before senior David Jones (Denver, CO, Colorado Academy/Air Force Academy) hit a pair of free throws to give the lead back to Knox, 21-19 with 4:26 left in the opening half.

Knox didn't score again until first-year Deandre Weathersby (Chicago, IL, Kenwood Academy) drilled a jump shot with 33 seconds before intermission.  The Bucs came up short on their final possession of the half and maintained a 25-23 halftime lead.

Neither team shot well.  Knox connected on 32 percent from the field – 1-of-8 from 3-point range – while Beloit was a little better at 37 percent.

Jones scored the first baskets of the second half for Knox.  Junior Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City) got in on the scoring act with a jumper about 4:30 into the new period to give the Prairie Fire a 31-30 lead.

Beloit answered with six straight points for a five point advantage.

Murphy came back with a basket and a free throw for Knox (1-20, 0-16 MWC) to trim the deficit to 36-34 with 12:42 to go in the game.

That's when the Buccaneers started to gain separation.  An 11-1 spurt by Beloit extended the lead to 47-35 a little over 5:00 later.  The Prairie Fire ended a stretch of almost six minutes without a field goal when first-year Marcellis Davis (Chicago, IL, Curie) swished a jump shot that pulled the hosts within 10.

Knox, however, managed just two more baskets over the remaining 6:33 while the Buccaneers built a 63-43 lead before three combined free throws concluded the scoring.

Beloit heated up to 60 percent shooting in the second half and finished the game at 48 percent.  The Prairie Fire never found the range and wound up at 32 percent shooting.  Knox continued to struggle from long-range, missing all six attempts from behind the 3-point line after halftime and finishing 1-of-14.

Jones had a double-double for Knox with 12 points and 10 rebounds.  Davis also scored in double-figures with 10 points. 

James Lazarcik, who entered the game with the top field goal percentage in NCAA D-3 (70.3 percent), shot 7-of-13 and led the Bucs with 19 points. 

The Prairie Fire go out on the road for the last time this season against Illinois College on Wednesday.  The game tips off at 5:30 p.m.