Men’s basketball loses tough road trip
Last weekend, the Monmouth College Men’s Basketball team traveled on a two-game road trip to Ripon College and Lawrence University. Entering the road trip, the Scots were riding a seven game win streak, beating the likes of several Midwest Conference opponents.
In the first game, the Scots lost a tough game to Ripon by a score of 83-54, without standout Will Carius. In the losing effort, D.J Swift and Dee Hyler scored in double figures, with 16 and 12 points respectively. With that being said, the first half proved fruitful for the Scots offense, as Monmouth shot 55% from the field and from 3-point range. The Red Hawks outrebounded the Scots, however, 40-26.
This contributed to the fact that Ripon was able to attempt 60 field goals compared to the Scots’ 43. Turnovers also proved key for Ripon, as Monmouth turned the ball over 21 times. In the free throw battle, Ripon shot 72% going 18-25, while the Scots shot 63% on 12-19 shots. The win moves Ripon to 11-7 overall, and 7-4 in conference play. The Scots fell to 13-5 and 8-3 in conference play.
Next, the Scots traveled to Appleton, Wisconsin to take on Lawrence University. In a close contest, Monmouth fell by a score of 77-82. Hyler, along with Justin Batterton, came up big for the Scots, scoring 23 and 22 points respectively. The Scots excelled from the foul line, shooting 88% on 21-24 from the charity strike. Overall, Monmouth shot 45% from the field while Lawrence shot 48%. Three-pointers proved to be the difference in this game, with the Vikings making 17 long range buckets compared to the Scots’ 10. The Scots did well; however, driving to the basket, scoring 24 points in the paint, doubling the 12 points by the Vikings in the same category. The loss moved the Scots’ record to 13-6 and 8-4 in Midwest Conference play. Lawrence moved to 9-10 on the season and 5-7 in conference play.
The Scots returned home this week for a pivotal matchup against Iowa rival Cornell College. The Rams headed into the game 9-9 on the season and 4-7 in conference play, and beat the Scots 77-69. This weekend, the Scots will play host to another Iowa foe: Grinnell College. Currently, the Pioneers are 10-9 and 6-6 in conference play.
This should be a very entertaining competition, as Grinnell’s system of 3-point shooting and massive substitutions always proves to be tough to plan against. That game will tip off at 1pm this Saturday, Feb. 8, in Glennie Gymnasium.
Riley Dulin - Sports Editor
