GALESBURG, Illinois—The Prairie Fire men's basketball team lost to Rockford 90-59 on Wednesday night.

Knox held an early 6-4 lead when Deryk Ruple hit a jumper just over five minutes into the game. The Regents quickly tied the game at 8-8 and then kept going to take a 17-8 lead. The Prairie Fire battled back to a six-point deficit going into halftime.

Rockford struck first in the second half, but Ruple hit a try to bring Knox back to within five. The Regents responded and soon took another double-digit lead. Rockford took control from there and earned the victory.

Jordan Rayner scored 13 points to lead the Prairie Fire on 3-of-5 from long-range. Ruple added 10 points and four assists.

Knox returns to action on December 29 as they resume conference play at Lawrence.