GALESBURG, Illinois—On a cold, gusty night, the Knox College men's basketball team dropped their game against the Beloit College Buccaneers by a final score of 58-42. Despite a solid defensive performance on their part, Knox suffered from a poor shooting performance, and as a result could not keep up with the Buccaneers.
 
The Prairie Fire began the first half on a roll, using an 11-2 run to get out to an early lead. Malcolm Bray paced the Prairie Fire with seven points and a steadying presence on the offensive side. On defense, he also contributed a couple of steals and a block to help stifle the Buccaneer attack. The Prairie Fire defense in general held Beloit to just 32.1% from the field, including only a 3-for-10 performance from beyond the arc. This resulted in Knox controlling the pace of play for the first half, and they entered the break with a five-point lead.
 
In the second half, however, Knox's shooting hit a cold spell. Justin Windt provided seven points and two rebounds, but unfortunately his points accounted for half of the team's total score. Jordan Rayner also added six points of his on in the half. On the defensive side, Knox struggled to stop Beloit's potent attack, as they shot 63% from the field and pulled in five offensive rebounds, often overmatching a tired Prairie Fire squad. As a result, Knox's first half lead evaporated and they ended up taking the loss.
 
For the Prairie Fire, Windt and Bray provided much of the Knox offense, scoring 13 and seven points, respectively. Deryk Ruple added seven points and three assists off the bench.
 
"We had a strong first half, but Beloit just out-executed and out-rebounded us in the second half," said head coach Kevin Walden.
 
Knox will battle Lake Forest tomorrow at 3 p.m.