Scots Eliminated from MWC Race with Loss at Cornell

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (02/15/2024) — The Monmouth College men's basketball team lost at Cornell on Wednesday night, 67-58. The Scots (13-11, 7-8) were eliminated from Midwest Conference Tournament contention with the loss as both Beloit and Ripon won on Wednesday and clinched the final two spots.

Kyle Taylor (Moline, Illinois) hit a pair of early 3-pointers to get the Scots offense going. The Rams pushed their lead to 15-8 before Max Maring (Port Byron, Illinois) scored with 9:41 to play in the half. Down 11, the Scots used a 9-0 run to close the gap. Turner Plumer (Canton, Illinois), David Williams (Loves Park, Illinois) and Taylor all scored during the run. However, the Rams scored the final 11 points of the half to lead 35-22 at the break.

Jordan Hill (Chicago, Illinois) started the scoring in the second half and Jason Huber (Carpentersville, Illinois) made a 3-pointer. Plumer and Maring both scored and Cornell's lead was cut to 39-36.The Rams responded with an 8-0 run before Huber hit another 3-pointer. Williams trimmed the lead to five with a 3-pointer and Plumer converted a 3-point play with 5:49 to play. Huber's third 3-pointer of the game cut the Rams lead to one with 5:02 to play but the Scots committed two straight turnovers and got hit with a bench technical foul. Cornell scored seven straight to lead 58-50 before Huber knocked down two free throws. Plumer cut the deficit to four with 2:26 to play put the Rams made their free throws down the stretch to win 67-58.

Huber and Plumer led the Scots with 11 points each while both Hill and Williams had 10. Williams posted a double-double with a team-leading 12 rebounds. Hill had four assists and Williams had three steals,

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Hill has scored in double figures 16 times this season, 10 times in MWC action. Plumer has scored in double figures 14 times, including 10 MWC games. Both have tallied double figures in six straight games. Monmouth was just 7-for-24 from 3-point range. The Scots made 13-of-19 free throws. Monmouth won the rebound battle 43-32 but shot just 31.7% for the game. Monmouth is 6-18 against Cornell under Coach Skrivseth, including 2-11 on the road. The Scots lead the all-time series 81-77 but Cornell has won 10 games in a rowMonmouth plays the season finale at Grinnell on Saturday at 1 p.m.