GALESBURG, Ill. — Galesburg native Carl Dortch drained a jumper from the elbow with 3:15 to play — two of his 10 points — giving the Knox College men's basketball team the lead for good, and the Prairie Fire fought off every challenge from visiting Westminster College (Mo.) on Saturday afternoon in a 68-65 season-opening victory.

Sophomore transfer Noah Campbell led Knox (1-0) in his first game with the team with 16 points, while junior Josh Stewart had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds to give the Prairie Fire a win in their season opener for the fifth time in the last six full seasons.

The balanced scoring attack helped Knox to fend off the 3-point barrage by Kolton Garner, who hit six triples and had a game-high 20 points for the Bluejays (0-1).

Garner's fifth trifecta of the game with 4:09 to play gave Westminster the lead, 61-60, for the first time since early in the second half. About a minute later, Stewart drove to the glass and dished back out to the senior Dortch at the free throw line, who calmly canned the 15-footer to reclaim the lead.

The two teams traded free throws before Stewart laid in a shot for a three-point advantage, 65-62, with 1:57 to play. Dortch then scored down low off a feed from Campbell for a five-point Prairie Fire lead with 36 seconds remaining. But the Bluejays kept pecking away as Garner drained one more long ball with 22.4 seconds showing.

Knox missed two free throws at the other end, keeping the door open for Westminster, but a 3-pointer with three seconds left was off the mark, and after first-year Ayden Ayer hit 1-of-2 at the line, all the Bluejays could get before the buzzer was a desperation heave beyond half court that banged off the glass as the horn sounded.

• The first half was also evenly played with Knox taking a 31-30 edge into the locker room.
• Campbell finished his Knox debut 6-of-12 from the floor with a pair of triples, three steals and two assists.
• Stewart's double-double was the fifth of his career.
• Dortch was 5-of-6 from the floor to account for his 10 points and hauled in six rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
• Both teams struggled at the foul line with the Prairie Fire hitting 11-of-20 (.550) and Westminster just 7-of-14 (.500).
• Knox won the battle of the boards, 43-40, but the Bluejays had a 13-9 edge in second-chance points.

Knox will play again on Tuesday, Nov. 11, when it travels to Blackburn College for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Dawes Gymnasium. Live stats are expected to be available through the Blackburn website, blackburnbeavers.com.