GALESBURG, Illinois - The Knox College men's basketball team defeated the Westminster Blue Jays by a final score of 79-75 this Wednesday at the Memorial Gym in Galesburg. With the win, their second of the season, the Prairie Fire remain undefeated and show that their free-flowing style of basketball is effective.
The Prairie Fire got off to a quick start, then proceeded to battle neck and neck with the Blue Jays throughout the first half. Sean Gallery had the hot hand early, scoring eight points with wide open looks, getting a couple three pointers to splash for good measure. With additional good play from Duane Goodman, Jr. and Cade Windham, Knox found themselves up by as much as eight points against Westminster, but were unable to pull away further. Despite Knox's excellent shooting in the first half, going 57.14% from the field, a string of unfortunate fouls stalled momentum and allowed the Blue Jays to get back into the game. As a result, Knox entered the half tied at 39-39 with Westminster.
Resigned to playing a close game, Knox dug in its heels and refused to allow the Blue Jays to relax during their possessions. The Prairie Fire defense allowed Westminster to shoot only 46.67% on the floor in the second half, while also cutting down on fouls. The team also continued to spread out the floor and give scoring opportunities to many players, with three players putting up double figures. As the half progressed, Knox's consistent shooting and effective cuts to the basket saw them build a slim lead. David Eismark and Goodman continued to score when needed to, leading to the Prairie Fire's close victory as the final horn sounded.
Eismark led Knox with 16 points. Goodman, Jr. added 15 points and seven rebounds and Gallery tallied 11 points and seven boards.
"This wasn't our best performance execution wise, but I was really proud of our fight tonight," said head coach Ben Davis. "We knew at halftime we were going to have to rebound the ball better in the 2nd half and that ended up being the difference in the game. That's a good team and I'm proud of our guys for earning this one."
Knox will attempt to win its third game in a row when they host Concordia University Chicago this Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
