MOUNT VERNON, Iowa—The Knox Prairie Fire men's basketball team suffered defeat against the Cornell College Rams today as they fell by a final score of 77-61. The loss ends their win streak before it could begin, and moves their conference record on the year to 3-11.
 
While Knox began the first half with impressive play from around the rim on both sides of the floor, their lack of range proved to be a detriment. As a team, they shot 54.5% from close range, as Ethan Meeker scored 8 of his 11 points from inside the three point line. Unfortunately, the Prairie Fire only managed to go 2-12 from three, and their bench as a whole couldn't pack quite the punch that the Cornell bench did. Defensively, the Prairie Fire forced 11 turnovers, including three steals by Zach Lowe, but the Rams still entered half time up by six.
 
The Prairie Fire ran into a wall in regards to team stamina in the second half, and the scoreline reflected that. Knox managed to only shoot 26.5% from the field, and although they managed to keep consistent pace, they couldn't keep the Rams off the board. Meeker scored eight more points in the half to gather an impressive 19 for the game, but the Prairie Fire fell into a further deficit that they could not escape from as time expired.
 
"Cornell is a tough team," said Ben Davis. "We know we have to have a good game against them and today it just didn't go our way."
 
Knox looks to secure another conference victory next Wednesday as they host Monmouth at 5:30 p.m.