MOUNT VERNON – Knox made its hay from the foul line and snapped Cornell's four-game winning streak with a 75-67 Midwest Conference men's basketball decision Wednesday night inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
The third-place Prairie Fire (12-5 overall, 5-2 MWC) attempted 35 free throws in the physical contest, making 22. Cornell (6-11 overall, 3-5 MWC) went 11-of-14 from the charity stripe.
Cornell received strong offensive outings from its dynamic duo of
Jayden Meeker (24 points) and
Zach Ingle (22 points). Sophomore newcomer
Nate Jacobson buried three second-half 3-pointers, including a trey that gave the Rams a 55-52 lead with 6:40 remaining.
Knox responded with nine unanswered points over the next three minutes to push ahead 61-55. The Prairie Fire hit enough free throws down the stretch to secure the win. They made 15-of-25 foul shots in the second half.
Meeker shot 10-of-17 from the field in notching his fourth consecutive 20-point game. The junior corralled a team-best six rebounds and dished three assists.
Jacobson pitched in nine points off the bench.
Dylan Hurley netted eight points.
The Prairie Fire, winners of nine of their last 10 contests, outscored Cornell 28-9 in bench points. The lead switched hands 13 times with neither team holding a double-digit lead the entire game.
Coming up – Cornell is idle this weekend before returning to action Tuesday against league leader Illinois College (15-2 overall, 7-1 MWC) at 5:30 p.m. in Jacksonville, Ill.
