The Prairie Fire men's basketball team lost an 89-87 game to Grinnell that came down to the wire on Tuesday night.
Knox jumped out to a 6-0 lead to begin the first half, but the Pioneers soon took an 11-10 lead. The teams went back and forth until the last five minutes of the first half when Grinnell took an 11 point lead. The Prairie Fire cut into the lead before half and the Pioneers took a 42-35 advantage into halftime.
Grinnell maintained their single-digit lead until Knox tied the game at 54-54 with 12:02 to play. The teams traded leads over the remainder of the game with neither team taking more than a six point lead until the Pioneers took an 86-78 lead with 1:34 to play. The Prairie Fire's Andrew Milot then took the game into his own hands with a three-pointer and a layup that turned into a three-point play to bring the game within a possession. Grant Gessert tied the game at 87-87 with a trey of his own with 15 seconds left. Grinnell converted a layup in the final seconds to earn the two point victory.
Sean Gallery led Knox with 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting before he fouled out late in the game. Milot added 12 points and Sean O'Neal scored eight points and hauled in 16 rebounds for a near double-double.
"That was a gut-wrenching loss and one that will sting for awhile," said head coach Ben Davis. "I was proud of our guys for fighting through some tough stretches and putting us in a position to win the game. To be in a dog fight with a really good team early in the season like that is really valuable and I take a lot of positives away from how we fought tonight."
The Prairie Fire have a bye this weekend and return to action on December 6 as they travel to Lawrence.
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