ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Not even 10 minutes into the game and it was already a long night for the Knox men's basketball team. The Prairie Fire trailed by 20 points a quarter of the way through the game as host Augustana College (6-3) raced out to the early lead and never slowed down, defeating Knox (2-8) on Wednesday evening at the Carver Center, 113-65.
Fourteen different Vikings scored points on this night with four reaching double figures, led by Tyler Knuth with 23 points to go with six assists and four rebounds. Senior Sean Gallery led the Prairie Fire with 15 points thanks to a trio of 3-pointers.
Knox scored right off the opening tap on a layup by junior Cole Andrews (14 points), and after Augustana missed its first three field goal attempts, Andrews added a 3-pointer for a 5-0 Prairie Fire lead. Not much else went right on this night for Knox, however, as the Vikings caught fire to take a 15-point lead before eight minutes had expired off the clock. Anthony Cooper then capped a 12-0 run with a long ball to boost that bulge to 20 points at 34-14 with 10:53 left in the half.
Gallery ended that run with one of his 3-pointers, but nothing was slowing Augustana on this night. The Vikings finished the half with nine 3-pointers and shot 60 percent from the floor to hit the locker room with a 60-29 lead. Although Augie hit just two more shots from the perimeter after the half, it converted 15-of-17 at the line. So even when Knox scored the first seven points of the second half on a Brandon Cooley 3-pointer (career-high 11 points for the first-year) and a four-point play from Gallery, the Vikings stomped out any hope of a miraculous comeback.
- After averaging 83.0 points over their first six games this season, the Prairie Fire have been unable to crack 70 points in their last four, averaging 64.5 points in that stretch.
- Knox has dropped six straight games since an 84-80 victory over Blackburn in its home opener on Nov. 23.
- The last opponent not named Grinnell to score as many points against the Prairie Fire was Eureka with 116 on Nov. 15, 2018.
- Knox had fewer rebounds than its opponent (39-31) for just the second time this season.
Knox will have a quick turnaround with another opportunity to stop its skid with a showdown with Coe College (5-4) on Friday, Dec. 20 at Kohawk Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The two teams last met 15 years ago, a Kohawk 59-55 win in Galesburg. The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. with live video and stats available through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox College athletics.
