The Knox College men’s basketball team rallied in the second half and then held off Lawrence University for a 71-68 Midwest Conference victory on Tuesday night at Alexander Gymnasium.
Tanner Carlson scored 21 poins and Joe Kozak added 20 points and a game-high nine rebounds for Knox (1-5, 1-4 MWC). Ryan DePouw came off the bench to pace Lawrence (2-4, 1-2) with 17 points. Davis DeWolfe added 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Vikings.
Cold shooting from long range doomed the Vikings. Lawrence, which entered the game leading the Midwest Conference in 3-point shooting, was 11 of 38 from beyond the arc. Lawrence also went only 5-for-12 from the foul line. Knox enjoyed a huge advantage at the line by going 20-for-26 on free throws.
Knox was down by as many as seven points early in the second half before the Prairie Fire rallied. Knox went on a 12-1 run to grab a 50-46 lead with 12:28 left.
Knox maintained its edge and led 69-60 with 29 seconds left. Conor Klusendorf hit a 3-pointer for Lawrence, and an offensive foul gave the ball back to the Vikings. DePouw then drained a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to trim the margin to 69-66.
Kozak was fouled and made one free throw with 11 seconds left to put Knox up 70-66. After a Tyler Crisman layup cut the lead back to 70-68, Kozak was fouled again with four seconds left. He made one free throw for a 71-68 lead, but Crisman’s desperation 3-pointer was off the mark at the buzzer.
Lawrence returns to action on Friday when the Vikings travel to Monmouth College.