ELSAH, Illinois — The Knox College Prairie Fire men’s basketball team won against the Principia College Panthers 72-61 in their season opener. The win gives new Prairie Fire head coach Ben Davis his first win as the head of the program.
The Panthers Trevaughn Goodman struck first with a quick fast break layup with only 23 seconds played in the first half. Knox was quick to counter though with Eric Thompson tying the game up 20 seconds later with a layup in the paint.
Knox was able to take a nice 12-7 lead off of two quick threes by Jordan Rayner. Principia took the lead back with two free throws, a three-pointer, and a layup in just under two minutes of play.
The Prairie Fire continued to battle hard only allowing the Panthers to get up by five, before tying it up at 21 off of a solid jump shot from Matthew Leary with 9:58 in the first half. After a couple more lead changes the first half ended with a tie score at 34.
Knox came out ready to play in the second half. Knox scored first in the second off of a free throw from Justin Windt. Principia took the lead back, but not for very long. The Prairie Fire took a two-point lead in just over three minutes having been played with a layup from Windt. Knox kept rolling from there.
Knox went up by a high of 13 points through the rest of the second half. The Prairie Fire only allowed the Panthers to tie the game up once in 16:50 of play. Knox was not letting this game slip out of their hands and earned the 11-point victory.
Zach Lowe led the Prairie Fire with 24 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Rayner added 11 points and Elijah Crump chipped in with 10 rebounds.
“It was nice to get that first win out of the way,” said head coach Ben Davis. “We will get back to work as we play a tough test this weekend.”
Knox hosts MacMurray on November 15 for their home opener.
