APPLETON, Wis. — Holding a one-point lead with just under 11 minutes to play, the Knox College men's basketball suddenly found points to be scarce as host Lawrence University went on a 13-3 run over the next six-and-a-half minutes, then kept the Prairie Fire at arm's length the rest of the way to send them back to Galesburg with a 71-66 defeat. Hogan Demovsky led all players with 16 points for the Vikings (6-15, 4-8 Midwest Conference), completing a season sweep of Knox (4-16, 1-10 MWC).

The game was primarily decided at the free throw line where Lawrence sank 23-of-31 (.742) while Knox attempted just 10 foul shots, making seven on the night.

The Vikings got off to a quick start, jumping out to a 12-3 lead, before the Prairie Fire roared back with a 15-2 run as seven different players scored during the spurt. While Lawrence would tie the score four times before the end of the half, it could never get over the hump, and sophomore Josh Stewart broke the last of those ties just before the buzzer with a layup to give Knox a 34-32 lead at the intermission.

In the second half, the Prairie Fire quickly stretched their advantage to seven points on a layup by junior Carl Dortch, 41-34. The Vikings tied the score twice more before reclaiming the lead at 46-45 on a pair of free throws. Sophomore Anthony Davis responded by floating in a layup to give Knox the one-point edge with 10:47 to play, but it was the last time it would be on top on this night.

The only offense for the Prairie Fire for the next six-plus minutes came on a three-point play by first-year Willie Rogers III. Knox missed its other eight shots — six from distance — and turned the ball over four times as Lawrence took control.

• Knox began the game hitting 5-of-11 from downtown, then misfired on its next 15 attempts, finishing the game 7-of-28 (.250) from distance.
• Stewart came off the bench to grab a team-high 10 rebounds before fouling out in the last minute.
• Gallery hauled in seven rebounds, leaving him one shy of becoming the eighth player in program history with 500 rebounds in a Knox uniform.
• The Prairie Fire have dropped their last five contests.
• Nicholas Gouriotis recorded a double-double for Lawrence (10 points, 12 rebounds).

Knox returns home to Memorial Gymnasium in hopes of playing spoiler as Ripon College (9-11, 6-5 MWC) tries to keep its conference tournament hopes alive. Tip-off on Saturday, Feb. 8 is scheduled for 3 p.m. with a live stream and stats available through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox College athletics.