The Prairie Fire men's basketball team dropped their senior day game to Beloit 74-59 on Saturday afternoon. Before the game, Knox honored seniors Matthew Garife and Raphael Jalnaiz. Seniors Jordan Rayner and Isaiah Lockett had their senior day game last season.
The Prairie Fire jumped out to a 16-9 lead early in the first half, but the Buccaneers rallied back to tie the game at 19-19. Knox scored the next four points and the remainder of the half was back-and-forth. Beloit took a 32-29 into halftime.
The Buccaneers began the second half on a 14-2 run to take a commanding lead. The Prairie Fire were unable to bring the game back within single digits and Beloit cruised to victory.
Rayner led Knox with 14 points, hitting 2-of-4 shots from long-range. Sean Gallery and Garife added 13 points apiece. Gallery also pulled down 10 rebounds to earn a double-double.
"We didn't play particularly well in the first half, but remained within striking distance," said head coach Ben Davis. "We didn't really have success implementing any of our adjustments out of halftime and Beloit took advantage."
The Prairie Fire return to action on February 14 as they host Illinois College.