The Buccaneer men's basketball team outscored the Prairie Fire 36-27 in the second half en route to a 76-64 victory Friday evening, their third consecutive win over Knox College.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with Beloit College leading by just three, 40-37 at the break, but Andrew Walters took over the game to start the second half. 

Walters opened the scoring in the period with a layup off an assist by Michael Polakoski followed by a pair of free throws and a jumper before capping the run with a steal and fastbreak layup to give the Bucs a 48-39 advantage just over two minutes into the half. The surge in momentum carried the Bucs to a double digit lead. 

Knox cut the lead to seven at the midway point of the half but an eight-point run for Beloit pushed the lead back into double figures where it remained the rest of the way. The gap swelled to as much as 18 on Polakoski's triple off an assist from Walters at the 3:12 mark. Despite a couple late turnovers, the Bucs held on for the double digit win sealed by Darin Empereur at the free throw line as he hit four from the charity stripe in the final 1:35.

The Bucs shot 55-percent from the floor while hitting 10-22 from long range and 10-13 from the free throw line in the game. Knox shot 45-percent from the field, hit 10-24 from downtown and made 6-10 from the charity stripe. 

Polakoski and Tristan Shoup tied for team-high honors with 19 points. Polakoski's total was bolstered by 6-9 from the floor and 5-7 from beyond the arc. Shoup hit 8-12 from the field in the game. Empereur dropped in 18 points and led the Bucs with nine rebounds and a game-high seven assists. Walters joined his teammates in double figures with 16 points on 7-8 from the floor adding eight boards. 

Beloit returns to Flood Arena Saturday to host Illinois College. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m.