WATERTOWN, Wisconsin - The Prairie Fire men's basketball team won their season opener 78-60 over Maranatha Baptist on Thursday night.

Cole Andrews gave Knox an early 7-4 lead when he hit a trey with 15:43 to play in the first half. The Prairie Fire began to pull away from the Sabercats in the middle of the half, but Maranatha Baptist surged back in the final minutes to face just a 31-27 deficit at halftime.

Knox steadily built up a double-digit lead in the first five minutes of the second period and staved off any comeback attempts from the Sabercats to claim victory.

Sean Gallery led the Prairie Fire with 15 points and 10 boards to pick up a double-double. Andrews added 14 points, thanks to a perfect 4-for-4 showing from long-range. Jordan Rayner tallied 12 points and David Eismark racked up 10 points.

"We led for most of the game and despite a run by Maranatha at the end of the first half, we never really felt like we were going to give up the lead," said assistant coach Randy Jackson. "We stuck to our game plan and saw a lot of good things. We still have things to work on, but definitely a very successful opening to the season."

Knox returns to action on November 12 as they travel to Concordia Chicago.