DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – The Knox College men's basketball team fell 79-69 to SUNY Maritime on Sunday morning in their Daytona Beach Shootout finale.

Knox opened with momentum, scoring the first six points, punctuated by Russell Wright's (13 points, 10 rebounds) steal and emphatic dunk. 

The Prairie Fire maintained their surge as a three-pointer by Willie Rogers III (11 points, nine rebounds) pushed Knox to its largest lead, 11-4, with 16:56 left in the first half. However, momentum began to shift as the half progressed.

The teams traded baskets before SUNY Maritime went on a pivotal run, building a 30-21 lead with 3:24 left in the first half. Knox responded and narrowed the deficit, going into halftime trailing 34-28.

In the second half, Noah Campbell led Knox back, scoring 14 of his 18 points after halftime. His effort powered a 15-3 Prairie Fire run, resulting in Knox regaining the lead 43-40 on an Aydan Ayer three-pointer with 13:43 left. 

SUNY Maritime answered Knox's surge with a key 16-4 run of their own, reclaiming a 56-47 advantage with 9:03 left, which shifted the momentum again.  The Prairie Fire refused to quit, though, answering back to tie the game at 60-60 on Wright's tip-in with 3:29 left.

Unfortunately for Knox, SUNY had the last big run, holding a 19-9 advantage in the game's final 3:17.

Knox went 24-79 from the field (30.4 percent), 6-27 from three (22.2 percent), and 15-27 from the free throw line (55.6 percent). Knox outrebounded the Privateers 54-52 and forced 20 turnovers.

The Prairie Fire (5-6 overall, 1-2 in the MWC) are now off for over a week, before returning home to host Millikin on New Year's Eve at 3 p.m. inside Memorial Gymnasium. Fans are encouraged to come out and support Knox as the team aims to build on their strong play. For more on Knox men's basketball and Prairie Fire athletics, visit https://prairiefire.knox.edu/.