CARLINVILLE, Illinois - The Prairie Fire men's basketball team dropped a close 67-59 non-conference game at Blackburn on Wednesday night.

Knox jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the first half, but the Beavers slowly chipped away at the lead. The Prairie Fire led 30-27 at the half.

Blackburn scored first in the second half, but Knox maintained their lead until the Beavers took a one point lead with 14:22 to play. Blackburn pulled away by nine points with 10:28 left in the game. The Prairie Fire brought the game to within three at the 6:49 on the clock, but could not quite catch the Beavers.

Andrew Milot led Knox with 18 points on 8-of-19 shooting. He added seven rebounds. Chikere Nwosu and Sean O'Neal each chipped in 11 points. Cole Andrews added six points and 10 boards.

"We started out strong, but let Blackburn back into the game," said head coach Ben Davis. "We have some things to work on before conference play starts, but it was nice to see a few guys step up and contribute tonight."

The Prairie Fire will return to action as they host Principia on November 21.