MONMOUTH, Illinois—The Prairie Fire men's basketball team lost to Monmouth College 69-57 on Tuesday night.

The Fighting Scots took a 10-point lead midway through the first half, but Knox used a 9-0 run to get back in the game and tie the game at 24-all. A last second shot by Nicholas Whitman left the Prairie Fire down by just four points at halftime.

Three straight baskets to open up the second half, gave Knox their first lead of the night. Monmouth responded with eight straight points to take a six-point lead with 13:07 to play. The Prairie Fire worked back to a one-point deficit with 8:57 remaining, but the Scots responded with an 8-0 run to take a 58-49 lead. Monmouth soon took a double-digit lead and held on for the victory.

Jordan Rayner scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting to lead Knox. Justin Windt added 10 points on a 5-for-8 performance from the field. Blake Godbold pulled down six boards to lead the Prairie Fire.

Knox will travel to Beloit on February 9 before returning home for their final two games.