The Dominican University men's basketball team pulled back to .500 on the season at 5-5, scoring a 75-66 win over the Knox College Prairie Fire at the Igini Sports Forum on Friday evening.  Trailing 55-50 with 8:36 to play, the Stars used a 19-0 run that spanned 5:20 to pull in front and never looked back.

"This was an important win tonight," said Mark White, the Stars' head men's basketball coach. "The team really wanted to get to .500 heading into the break. One constant through the first part of the season is that this team competes and it competes hard. That competitive spirit carried us tonight."
 
Jackson Smith scored a career-high 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting, including going 4-for-7 from three, to lead the Stars.  The Stars' junior forward connected on three of his five attempts from beyond the three-point stripe in the first half, pouring in 13 first half points, as the Stars and Prairie Fire played to a 35-35 tie after the opening half.  Knox tried to slow Smith in the second half, keeping the sharp-shooter to just five attempts from the field after the break but it was Smith's lone three of the second half that sparked the Stars' big second half run.
 
After Smith scored the first five points of the run, Dylan Anderson gave Dominican its first lead in nearly eight minutes with a layup with 6:03 to play, giving Dominican a 57-55 lead.  Dominican continued to add to its lead, capping the run with a driving lay in by Luke McDermott with just over three minutes to play, giving Dominican a 69-55 lead before Knox snapped a 5:46 scoreless drought when Ethan Meeker buried a three with 2:54 to play.
 
Dominican then put the game on ice, going 4-for-5 at the foul line over the game's final 91 seconds.
 
After Smith, Dennis Handy and KJ Redfield chipped in 13 and 11 respectively while Luke McDermott rounded out a quartet of Stars in double-figure scoring with ten points.
 
For the Prairie Fire, Meeker finished with a game-high 30 points on 11-for-22 shooting and Jordan Rayner added 13. The rest of the Knox lineup combined for just 22 points on 9-for-31 shooting.
 
As a team, Dominican shot 24-for-54 from the field, going 11-for-32 from three, and converted on 16 of 22 attempts at the free throw line.
 
Knox finished the game, 24-for-66 shooting from the field, 8-for-24 from three, and 10-for-15 from three.
 
Dominican will enjoy a 14-day break from action, returning to Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play on Saturday, January 4, at Aurora University.  Tipoff in that contest is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.