GALESBURG, Illinois—The Prairie Fire men's basketball game returned to the court for the first time in over a year. Knox hosted Illinois College in the first home game on campus this school year. The Prairie Fire fell 66-47.
 
Jordan Rayner got the scoring going with a pair of layups to give the Prairie Fire an early lead. The Blueboys reeled off 16 straight points to take an 18-4 lead about midway through the first half. Knox chipped away at the lead as David Eismark and Rayner each hit short jumpers, but Illinois College pulled away to lead 37-20 heading into halftime.
 
Rayner again got the Prairie Fire going early in the second half with a pair of free throws. Cade Windham hit a three-pointer and Duane Goodman hit a short jumper to add to a 7-0 run by Knox. Goodman then hit a trey to pull the Prairie Fire back to within eight points, but the Blueboys used a 13-0 run to pull ahead once again with 14:27 left to play. The teams largely went back-and-forth for the remainder of the game and Illinois College held on for the 66-47 victory.
 
Rayner led Knox with 12 points and added five rebounds. David Eismark put up 10 points and pulled in a team-high seven boards.
 
"It was great to be back on the court and see these guys compete," said head coach Ben Davis. "With so many first year players and this being our first game in over a year, I knew there would be some rust. I was happy with the way we competed, but we need to do a much better job executing on the offensive end and need to be more disciplined on defense as well. Illinois College has a really good team this year and we're excited to get another chance to play against them tomorrow."
 
The Prairie Fire will travel to Illinois College on Sunday for a 2:00 game.