GALESBURG, Illinois – The Prairie Fire hung tight with #7 ranked St. Norbert College through the first half but struggled to find offense the rest of the way in a 73-40 Midwest Conference loss on Saturday at Memorial Gym.

The opening stanza featured six ties and six lead changes.  St. Norbert (21-1, 17-0 MWC) couldn't gain more than a four point lead in the first 16:00 of the contest.

A basket and a free throw by first-year Orlando Brown (Chicago, IL, Hinsdale South) allowed Knox to pull ahead 25-24 with 2:45 remaining.  The Green Knights closed the half on a 7-0 run for a 31-26 lead at the break.

The Prairie Fire (6-15, 4-12 MWC) trimmed the deficit to four when Brown scored again to open the second half.  St. Norbert took control from there.

The Green Knights ran off 14 consecutive points in the next five minutes to forge ahead 45-27.  Senior Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City) hit a jump shot to halt the run before the visitors extended the advantage to 20 with 12:16 remaining.

Knox got as close as 17 on a basket by first-year Caylab Herrera (Middletown, DE, Middletown) about a minute later.  But St. Norbert's lock down defense and 61 percent shooting in the second half were too much as the lead grew to 36.

The Prairie Fire shot 27.5 percent (14-for-51) overall, including 3-of-20 from 3-point range, after managing only five field goals and 15 points after halftime.  The 40 point output in the game is a season-low for Knox.

The Green Knights hit 54.5 percent of their shots and outrebounded Knox 43-27 to win their 41st straight game against Midwest Conference opponents, tying the league record.

No Prairie Fire player scored in double-figures.  Brown led with seven points to go with five rebounds.

The schedule is a tough one down the stretch for Knox with a game at Grinnell College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.  The Pioneers entered the weekend on a five-game winning streak.