GALESBURG, Illinois - The Prairie Fire men's basketball team tips off their season on November 10 as they travel to Maranatha Baptist.

Head Coach Ben Davis is in his fourth season at the helm and this will be his third full season after the 2020-21 season was significantly shortened due to Covid. His 2019-20 squad picked up the most overall wins for Knox since 2005-06. Last season they nearly matched that mark again.

Second team all-Midwest Conference selection Jordan Rayner returns for the Prairie Fire. Rayner led the team in scoring (16.6 ppg) while tallying 71 rebounds, 34 assists, and 29 steals. He will most likely become the 10th member of the 1,000 point scoring club at Knox early this season. Also returning are starters Sean Gallery (9.5 ppg), Isaiah Lockett, and Cade Windham. Gallery and Windham each averaged over four rebounds per game. Matt Garife, Aidan Derry, David Eismark, and Raphael Jalnaiz also saw significant minutes last season.

Knox finished last year ranked fourth in the Midwest Conference in defense, allowing 73.3 points per game. The Prairie Fire also ranked third in field goal percentage (.462) and first in three-point field goal percentage (.364). Knox had the second lowest turnover percentage in the league as well.

The Prairie Fire finished seventh in the league last year and were picked seventh again in the preseason poll, but Knox will look to surprise some people with a majority of their team back. The team should be able to move up the standings this year with their tenacious defense and attention to efficiency on the offensive end.