Box Score
APPLETON, Wisconsin – The Prairie Fire came up short in their bid for a second straight Midwest Conference win at Lawrence University on Saturday.

The Vikings prevailed 76-60 for their sixth consecutive victory over Knox, and 23rd in the last 26 games between the teams.

Lawrence (7-11, 5-8 MWC) went on a 10-0 run after the Prairie Fire tied the game at 10-all to take the first double-digit lead of the game at the 9:16 mark. 

The Vikings went up 32-21 on a 3-point play with 3:10 remaining.  Knox scored the next five points on a 3-pointer by sophomore Deandre Weathersby (Chicago, IL, Kenwood Academy) and a basket by fellow sophomore Robert Suntken (Naperville, IL, Naperville Central) to cut the deficit to six with 1:35 left.

Lawrence added a bucket before the end of the half and held a 34-26 edge over the Prairie Fire at the intermission.

The big difference in the first stanza was free throw shooting.  The Vikings hit 7-of-9 foul shots while Knox didn't get to the stripe.  The Prairie Fire also committed 12 turnovers that led to nine points for the hosts.

Suntken made the first two free throws of the game for Knox early in the second half to close the gap to six.  But a 12-2 run by the Vikings pushed the lead to 46-30 with about 15:00 left in the contest.

The Prairie Fire (5-13, 3-10 MWC) responded with back-to-back baskets following Lawrence turnovers.  Suntken had a steal and assisted on a basket by first-year Caylab Herrera (Middletown, DE, Middletown), then went in for a layup after another steal to close the gap to 12.

Both teams scored the next time they had the ball to keep it a 12 point game.  The Vikings ran off eight of the next nine points for a 56-37 advantage with 10:15 to play.

A jump shot by Suntken capped a 15-8 Knox run that again closed the gap to a dozen with 6:41 remaining. Lawrence thwarted any hopes of a big comeback by the Prairie Fire with a 3-point basket the next time down the floor.  The lead ballooned to 22 with about three minutes to play, sealing the win for Lawrence.

Knox shot a healthy 52 percent in the second half but was still outscored 42-34 during the period.  The Prairie Fire wound up at 43 percent (22-of-53) from the field, including 8-of-21 from 3-point range, and canned 6-of-10 free throws.

Lawrence shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) overall, hit seven 3-point baskets, and was 19-of-22 from the foul line.  The Vikings also held a 38-25 rebounding edge and outscored Knox 23-15 in points off of turnovers.

Senior Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City) led the Prairie Fire with 14 points and five rebounds.  Weathersby added 10 points and four assists and Suntken contributed eight points and six steals.

Knox plays next at Cornell College on February 4 at 7:30 p.m.  The Prairie Fire will try for a season sweep of the Rams (5-13, 4-9 MWC) after winning the first meeting 73-60 on January 7 at Memorial Gym.  Cornell has lost two straight after falling 71-52 against Illinois College at home on Saturday.