MOUNT VERNON, Iowa - The Prairie Fire men's basketball team earned a 75-67 win over Cornell on Wednesday evening.

The Rams jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first half, but Knox soon took a 9-7 lead. Cornell turned around and scored nine straight to retake the lead.

Knox chipped away at the lead and tied the game at 20-20. The Rams used a 6-0 run to take the lead again, but the Prairie Fire turned around to score seven straight and take a 27-26 lead. Knox maintained the lead for the remainder of the half and went into halftime with a 35-31 advantage.

The second half was more of the same with the teams exchanging leads, but neither team took more than a four point edge until the final four minutes. The Prairie Fire led by six with 3:39 to play and never relinquished the lead to hold on for victory.

Russell Wright led Knox with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Andrew Milot and Chikere Nwosu chipped in 11 points apiece. Milot dished out six assists. Cole Andrews added 10 points.

"This was a big win on the road for us," said head coach Ben Davis. "Cornell is a tough team and the game went down to the wire. We have found a way to win these close games so far this season and we will continue to work as we near the final stretch of conference play."

The Prairie Fire will return to action as they host Lake Forest on January 20 for Basketball Homecoming.