GALESBURG, Ill. — Senior Russell Wright scored 30 points, one of four Prairie Fire players to set a career high, leading visiting Knox (5-3) to a 131-127 victory in overtime at Greenville University (2-7) on Wednesday evening. The 131 points were the most for the Prairie Fire since February of 1991, more than 34 years ago.

After leading the game for a 20-minute span between the first and second halves, Knox saw the Panthers roar back and led by as many as six with 3:35 to play. The Prairie Fire were still trailing by four with 25 seconds remaining when Sheldon Grant hit the second of two free throws to make it a 113-109 game. But Wright hauled in an offensive board and scored before Knox fouled to stop the clock. And when Greenville missed both free throws, junior Josh Stewart took advantage and tied the game with a layup with four seconds still on the clock, sending the game into overtime.

In extra time, Wright gave the lead for good with a thunderous dunk at 2:10 remaining. But even after Wright boosted the lead to six with a layup and only 40 seconds showing, the Panthers would not relent, getting back within two on a Brandon Tully 3-pointers and still 25 ticks to go.

Greenville forced a held ball after the inbounds pass, but Knox retained possession. And the Prairie Fire avoided getting fouled as junior Vladimir Marinov found first-year Aydan Ayer cutting to the rim for an easy layup with 9.9 seconds left. A last-gasp 3-pointer by the Panthers came up short, and Knox escaped with the four-point victory.

• The Prairie Fire shot a robust 66.3 percent (57-for-86) from the floor, their fourth-best accuracy over the past 20 years, but just 51.7 percent (15-of-29) at the foul line.
• The last Knox team to top 131 points was the 1990-91 squad that beat Grinnell, 138-119, on Feb. 15, 1991.
• The Prairie Fire overcame 33 turnovers to squeak out the victory, helped in part by holding the Panthers to just 44-of-106 (.415) field goals and also by holding a 59-42 edge on the boards, the second-most rebounds in a game over the past 20 years.
• Wright was 13-of-17 from the floor and added 12 rebounds (matching a personal best) for his second double-double of the season and fifth of his career, plus dished out seven assists.
• The last Prairie Fire player to score 30 points was Jordan Rayner with 35 against Illinois College on Valentine's Day in 2023.
• The others to produce a career-high scoring night were Stewart with 25 (9-of-12 field goals), junior Denim Tuala-Fata with 22 (11-of-14) and sophomore Noah Campbell (11-of-15).
• Stewart added 11 rebounds to his ledger for his fourth double-double of the season and eighth of his career.

Knox returns to Memorial Gymnasium for its next game on Tuesday, Dec. 16 against Coe College (6-2) at 5 p.m. The game will be live streamed with stats available through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox College Athletics.