LAKE FOREST, Illinois – The Prairie Fire survived a second half comeback by Lake Forest College and won the Midwest Conference tilt 88-81 in overtime on Saturday.

Knox (6-14, 4-11 MWC) outscored the Foresters 16-9 in the extra period to snap a two-game slide and defeat Lake Forest for the first time since a 61-56 victory on February 23, 2008 at Memorial Gymnasium.

The Prairie Fire led 72-67 after senior Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City) split a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left in regulation.  A layup by LFC on the next possession cut the lead to three.  The Foresters rebounded a miss from the free throw line by Knox with five seconds on the clock and drew a foul that led to three clutch free throws and a 72-72 tie at the end of the second half.

The lead went back-and-forth in overtime until sophomore Mike Martin (Metamora, IL, Metamora) drained a 3-pointer with 2:32 remaining to put the Prairie Fire in front for good at 78-76.

Lake Forest (9-10, 8-7 MWC) got within one after hitting one of two free throws, but first-year Caylab Herrera (Middletown, DE, Middletown) followed Martin's 3-point basket with one of his own to extend the Knox advantage to 81-77 with 1:00 to play.  The Prairie Fire led by as many as nine points in the extra session.

The Foresters jumped out to an 11-7 lead in the first five minutes of the game.  The half featured eight lead changes, the last one at 24-22 when first-year DJ Lewis (Chino Hills, CA, Chino Hills) netted a trey at the 7:23 mark that sparked a 10-1 run and put Knox back on top.

A conventional 3-point play by Herrera allowed the Prairie Fire to increase the margin to nine at 36-27 with six seconds left.  Lake Forest nailed a 3-point shot that beat the halftime buzzer and closed the gap to six at the break.

The Foresters trimmed the deficit to 40-39 three minutes into the second half.  Knox pushed the lead back to nine on a jumper by sophomore Deandre Weathersby (Chicago, IL, Kenwood Academy) with 9:34 to go.

Lake Forest reclaimed the lead briefly at 67-65 with 2:15 left.  A basket by sophomore Robert Suntken (Naperville, IL, Naperville Central) kicked off a run of seven straight points that gave the Prairie Fire a five point cushion with 16 ticks on the clock.  That's when the Foresters scored the last five points in regulation and forced the extra session.

Knox buried 10 3-pointers in the game and shot 44 percent (31-of-70) overall.  The Prairie Fire sank 16-of-24 free throw attempts, including 8-of-9 in overtime.

Lake Forest finished the game shooting 39 percent (32-of-82) and a chilly 3-of-16 from 3-point distance.  The Foresters had an especially tough time at the foul line, sinking only 14-of-35 attempts.

Martin scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to record a double-double for Knox.  Suntken and Herrera also had 17 points, Weathersby 11, and first-year Grant Billimack (Metamora, IL, Metamora) chipped in with 10.

Jim Schick led all scorers with 27 points for Lake Forest.

Knox returns home from a three-game road trip to face Midwest Conference leader and nationally ranked St. Norbert College next Saturday.  The game is scheduled to tip off around 3:00 p.m.