The Knox Prairie Fire men's basketball team were defeated by the Ripon College Red Hawks this Saturday, falling by a final score of 78-67. With the loss, their third in a row, the Prairie Fire find themselves standing at 3-5 on the season, with a 1-2 record in Midwest Conference play.
Knox began the first half a little icy, with their usual defensive prowess taking some time to show up. The Red Hawks shot 53.6% from the field, and the Prairie Fire's defensive pressure on the perimeter was unable to affect Ripon's interior shooting. Offensively, Knox was out of rhythm to begin the game, with their 3-7 performance from beyond the arc being the only reason that they held close. Cade Windham had a magnificent performance for the Prairie Fire, going 3-3 from the floor in the half en route to shooting 7-7 on the day and 4-4 from three. As a result, despite poor play, Knox found themselves only down 9 at the half.
Offensively, the Prairie Fire found their lanes to cut and drive much more efficiently in the second half, turning the page on a dry first half. With solid half court play and quick layups, Knox held their own and played tough against a very good Red Hawk defense. Sean Gallery went 4-5 from the field and finished the half with 11 points, pairing nicely with Windham's shooting barrage. While the Prairie Fire managed to more effectively defend Ripon in the second half, it wasn't enough to close the deficit, and they lost by the final score.
Knox looks to turn it around next Thursday when they travel to play CalTech in Pasadena at 7:00 p.m.
