GALESBURG, Ill. — It was only appropriate that a game with nine lead changes and 10 ties would come down to the wire, and sophomore Noah Campbell made sure the Knox College home fans left with a smile on their faces. The 5-10 point guard drained a 3-pointer from the far wing with 1.4 seconds to play, breaking a deadlock to give the Prairie Fire (3-1) a 72-69 victory over Eureka College (1-4) on Tuesday night at Memorial Gymnasium.
Things looked bleak for Knox when Micah Bruer hit a 3-pointer to give the Red Devils a 69-64 lead with 1:39 to play. But first-year Ayden Ayer responded with a corner three a mere 18 seconds later, keeping the Prairie Fire within two.
After a Eureka turnover and a Knox timeout, junior Josh Stewart, who recorded his third double-double of the season on the night with 19 points and 10 rebounds, drove to the rim, knocked down the layup and was fouled, tying the game with 55 ticks left. Though he missed the free throw, he dove for the loose ball on the rebound and dished to a teammate all in one motion to regain possession. Campbell fired off a 3-pointer but was off the mark, and Eureka, already in the double bonus, was fouled on the rebound.
Both free throws misfired, however, and Campbell ran down the second miss in the corner. Following timeouts by both teams, Knox ran down the clock to eight seconds before making its move. Stewart dished off to sophomore Ryan Erdos, who found Campbell for the game-winner. Eureka's desperation shot from three-quarters court hit the rafters in the gym as the buzzer sounded, giving the Prairie Fire their first win over the Red Devils in 15 years.
Knox had a slim 30-28 lead at the intermission, balancing 12 turnovers with a decisive 25-12 advantage on the glass. Stewart had nine points and six rebounds to lead the Fire, while Jaxson Provost had nine points for Eureka.
Early in the second half, Knox boosted its lead to as many as eight points on back-to-back short jumpers by sophomore Willie Rogers III, but a 10-2 Red Devil run, capped by a Ben Carter triple, knotted the game at 40 with 13:52 to go. Another Carter long ball 24 seconds later gave Eureka its first lead since the middle of the first half.
The Prairie Fire roared back to go up six, 51-45, only to have the Red Devils go on an eight-point run. Again Knox rallied with a 9-2 spurt for a 60-55 edge with 6:20 to play, and again Eureka tied the game at 60. Campbell then hit two free throws and canned a pull-up jumper on the break for a four-point lead, but nine straight Red Devil points set up the thrilling end.
- Campbell finished the night with 15 points on 6-of-11 field goals along with his clutch 3-pointer.
- As a team, the Prairie Fire shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the floor, almost identical to Eureka's 42.1 percent (24-of-57).
- Knox finished the game with a 47-30 advantage on the boards and only turned the ball over four times in the second stanza.
- Eureka had won six straight in the series, but this was the first meeting in four years.
- At 3-1, the Prairie Fire are off to their best start since 2003-04 (5-1).
Knox has a week off for final exams before opening Midwest Conference play at Illinois College (2-3) on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 5:30 p.m. The game will be live streamed with stats available through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox College Athletics, courtesy of Illinois College.
