GALESBURG, Illinois—The Prairie Fire men’s basketball team defeated Rockford 84-66 on Wednesday night.
Knox jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in the first half thanks to a basket by Wes Jolly and a pair of jumpers by Ethan Meeker. The Regents stormed back to take a 14-11 lead, but Knox kept the game close before taking a 23-20 lead. The Prairie Fire extended their lead to 46-29 heading into halftime. Meeker paced the Knox offense with 21 points in the first half.
Rockford cut into the Knox lead a bit early in the second half, coming as close as 12 points. The Prairie Fire prevented the Regents from any big runs and soon led by 20. Knox was able to keep their defense up and got 16 points from Jordan Rayner to keep up the offensive barrage and cruise to victory.
Meeker finished with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead the Prairie Fire. He added six assists and six rebounds. Rayner added 18 points and Zach Lowe scored 16.
“We showed a fire on defense tonight,” said head coach Ben Davis. “Ethan and Jordan both had excellent games and Zach showed his usual intensity. It was a great team victory.”
Knox will return to action when they travel to North Park on December 16.
