GRINNELL, Iowa — The Midwest Conference office revealed its Performers of the Week in men's basketball this afternoon with Knox College senior Russell Wright receiving the honor for his outstanding performance in the Prairie Fire's lone game last week. This is the first time he has earned the award in his career.

A 6-6 forward from Savannah, Georgia, Wright had a career night at Greenville University on Wednesday, Dec. 10 to help Knox pull out a 131-127 overtime victory on the road. In 33 minutes of action, Wright poured in a personal-best 30 points on 13-of-17 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws, while grabbing 12 rebounds to tie another career high for his fifth double-double in a Prairie Fire uniform. On top of those numbers, he also dished out seven assists — the most in his career — and swatted three blocks matching another personal high. He led Knox in each of those statistical categories in the game as well, and only turned the ball over once against the Panthers' high-pressure defense.

For the season, Wright is averaging 10.8 points and 7.0 rebounds a game, the latter of which ranks sixth in the Midwest Conference. And although he doesn't qualify for the field goal percentage leaders needing six more buckets, he is shooting a robust 59.6 percent from the floor, which would lead the league if he did qualify.

This is the third straight week a Prairie Fire basketball player was honored by the league, the first two coming from the  women's team — sophomore Nayeli Nidez Acuña on Dec. 1 and junior Bria Medina on Dec. 8. The last men's player to garner this honor was Sean Gallery just over a year ago on Nov. 25, 2024.

Knox returns to Memorial Gymnasium for its next game on Tuesday, Dec. 16 against Coe College (6-3) at 5 p.m. The game will be live streamed with stats available through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox College Athletics.