GALESBURG, Illinois—The Prairie Fire men's basketball team fell to St. Norbert 86-63 on Saturday afternoon.
 
The score was tied 9-9 early in the first half, but the Green Knights began pulling away and built up a double-digit lead with 10:26 remaining in the half. Knox held their own over the next few minutes, but St. Norbert added to their lead late in the half and took a 53-20 lead into halftime.
 
The Prairie Fire began the second half with a 9-2 run, but the Green Knights came back to life and were soon up by 30 once again. St. Norbert led by as many as 38, but Knox used a 23-6 run to climb back into the game and force the Green Knights to put their starters back in. St. Norbert's lead proved to be too much and the Green Knights held on for an 86-63 victory.
 
Jordan Rayner led the Prairie Fire with 16 points and was a big part of the second half surge as he scored nine points. Ethan Meeker also added 10 points in the second half and 15 points overall.
 
"We played a very strong second half," said head coach Ben Davis. "We just put ourselves in too big a hole in the first half. Lots of good things in the second half to give us a boost for our next game."
 
The Prairie Fire host Cornell on January 8 to continue the conference homestand.