GALESBURG, Illinois—The Prairie Fire outscored the Blueboys in the second half, but came up just short in the 69-63 loss on Wednesday night.

Knox (1-13, 0-9 MWC) trailed by 11 points at halftime and trailed by as many 18 in the second half, but made a strong push in the last 10 minutes of the game. The Prairie Fire pulled to within four points with 26 seconds left, but Illinois College was able to hit all four free-throws they took in that span to close out the game.

Braden Adams (Mount Vernon, MO, Mount Vernon) had a strong showing with a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds. DJ Lewis (Chino Hills, CA, Chino Hills) and Deandre Weathersby (Chicago, IL, Kenwood Academy) each added 11 points. Weathersby finished with four assists to lead Knox.

The Prairie Fire will travel to Lawrence on January 23 looking for their first conference win.