Metcalf, Scots Beat Beloit on Saturday

Monmouth puts three in double figures for first win

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (12/04/2021) — The Monmouth College men's basketball team picked up their first win of the season as they beat Beloit College 75-61 Saturday in the Midwest Conference home opener. The Scots put three in double figures, led by Jordan Metcalf (Aledo, Illinois) with 18 points.

The first half turned into a free throw contest with both teams in the bonus for the final 10 minutes of the half and in the double bonus for the final six minutes. Monmouth was 8-for-17 for the half while Beloit was 10-for-13.

The fouls left both Metcalf and Jonathan Oradiegwu (Richmond, Texas), the Scots two leading scorers on the season, on the bench for most of the first half with two fouls.

After a technical foul on Monmouth head coach Todd Skrivseth, Beloit made a free throw to tie the game at 21. The Scots responded with a 6-0 run on a steal and layup from Kendall Brasfield (Chicago, Illinois), a layup by Will Ewald (Lincoln, Illinois) and a long jumper by Amyas Njoku (Los Angeles, California).

Beloit scored five straight to cut the Monmouth lead to 29-28 as the Scots missed four straight free throws. Joseph Oradiegwu (Richmond, Texas) made a layup at the first-half buzzer to give the Scots a 31-28 lead. Njoku and Metcalf led the way in the first half with seven points each while Jonathan Oradiegwu had four.

The Scots came out of the half and scored four quick points on baskets in the paint from Yuvraj Sidhu (Coppell, Texas) and Metcalf. A jumper from Metcalf and a fast-break layup for Jonathan Oradiegwu gave the Scots their largest lead of the game at 39-31 with 16:40 to play.

Beloit's Scotty Olsen closed the gap by himself with 3-pointers on consecutive possessions before a Monmouth timeout. Out of the timeout Metcalf completed a 3-point play but Olsen hit another triple after an offensive rebound.

Metcalf scored nine of the first 13 points for the Scots in the second half before Briar Greenman (Alpha, Illinois) drilled a corner 3-pointer for a 47-42 lead. Brasfield drilled a 3-pointer and Ewald made a layup as the Scots went on top 53-44 with 11:00 left.

The Monmouth lead reached 11 before the Bucs went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 55-51. Monmouth called timeout but Oradiegwu picked up his fourth foul on the ensuing possession with 8:16 to play. Sidhu buried a wing 3-pointer to beat the shot clock and put the Scots up 60-53.

The Scots led by nine after Njoku scored in the lane and he followed two missed Beloit free throws for another layup. With 2:23 to play Beloit was called for an intentional foul and Jonathan Oradiegwu made both free throws for a 70-57 lead. He grabbed a layup on the next possession for a 15-point lead with 1:55 to play. The Scots ran the clock from there and won the game 75-61 to move to 1-1 in the MWC.

Metcalf led the way with 18 points while Jonathan Oradiegwu and Njoku both had 13. Sidhu and Greenman had seven each and Brasfield led the team with three steals.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: The Scots went 16-for-30 from the free throw line, 8-for-13 in the second half...They were 5-for-17 from 3-point range with Greenman making two...Jonathan Oradiegwu tied his career high with nine rebounds...Five Scots had at least two assists, led by Metcalf with three...Metcalf made his first six field goal attempts and finished 7-for-9...Monmouth held Beloit to 34.6 percent from the field and 10-of-26 on two-point attempts...The Scots had 30 points in the paint to 14 for BeloitCoach Skrivseth is 7-3 against Beloit at home and 11-8 overall...Monmouth is next in action on Wednesday against Illinois College at 5:30 p.m.