Scots Fall to Rams in Season Ending Sizzler

The Fighting Scots Men’s Basketball team faced a slow start against the Cornell Rams in their first conference tournament game last Friday night. The Scots clinched the third spot in the tournament, matching them up with the second-seated Cornell College Rams. Despite an enthusiastic warm-up and good energy, the boys had no shots fall until five minutes into the first half.

“The game definitely did not go how we wanted,” said freshman team captain and guard Kyle Taylor  (Moline, Ill.) “They were hitting a lot of shots and we couldn’t find our usual rhythm. They got  hot and we couldn’t answer.” Taylor played 25 games for the Scots this season, averaging 9.0 points per game with a .378 field-goal percentage and a .440 three-point percentage.

The Scots finally ended up scoring after a set of three-pointers from newly named 2022-2023 Midwest Conference Newcomer of the Year, David Williams (Loves Park, Ill.), a junior transfer from Sauk Valley Community College. Williams proved to be an important part to the men’s basketball team this year, being a team captain and playing 24 games while averaging 13.4 points per game. He also boasts a .370 field-goal percentage and a .349 three-point percentage.

“Transitioning to Monmouth from my Juco wasn’t really that difficult. I became close with the guys right away and it made basketball easier. Coach Skriv trusting me to play my game helped as well. With how young our team is, I am excited to see what we can do in years to come,” says Williams.

Kyle Taylor was there to answer Williams’s set of threes with a pair of his own, however the score at halftime was 57-30 favoring the Rams. Despite the score, the effort from the Scots bench does not go unnoticed. With 4:45 left in the second half, sophomore guard Jordan Hill (Chicago, Ill.) secures an and-one play, and senior guard Jack Hosack (St. Petersburg, Fla.) cashes a three-pointer.

Despite their efforts, the Scots fell short to the Rams with a final score of 70-48.

“Going into the game we were really excited to do some things that Monmouth basketball hasn’t done in a while. It was sad having to say goodbye to some of the seniors, but their impact will forever be left on this program. Although we didn’t get the result we wanted, we are happy with how the season went,” says Williams.

Izzy Gimm - Contributing Writer