JACKSONVILLE, Illinois—The Prairie Fire men's basketball team fell to Illinois College 80-65 in their road opener.
 
The Prairie Fire struck first when Duane Goodman, Jr. hit a jumper in the first minute of the game. Knox held a 12-9 lead with 13:32 to play in the first half, but the Blueboys jumped out to a 25-18 lead at the 8:33 mark. A steal by David Eismark set up a foul on the fast break and he knocked down a pair of free throws to break up the run by Illinois College. The Blueboys came back with a vengeance and finished the half on a 17-7 run to head into halftime up 42-27.
 
Knox chipped away at the lead early in the second half and trailed 53-40 with 16:36 to play thanks to a Jordan Rayner layup. Illinois College soon pulled away again to take a 20 point lead at the midway point in the second half. The Prairie Fire made a late run to pull within 15, but the time expired and the Blueboys held on for the victory.
 
Rayner led the Prairie Fire with 16 points, while Matt Garife scored 11 points and grabbed eight boards. Cade Windham hit a pair of treys to add on 10 points.
 
"We held our own against a very good IC team," said head coach Ben Davis. "We still have work to do, but a lot of good things to build on in the next few weeks."
 
Knox returns to action on March 27 as they host Cornell.