Scots Fall at Lawrence on Saturday

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (01/20/2024) — The Monmouth College men's basketball team lost at last place Lawrence on Saturday afternoon, 66-49. The Scots (11-7, 5-4) fell behind early and never caught up in their first conference road loss of the season.

Lawrence took a 10-0 lead as the Fighting Scots didn't score for the first 7:47 of the game. Jordan Hill (Chicago, Illinois) made a layup to end the run and Jason Huber (Carpentersville, Illinois) followed with a layup. Monmouth's next four points came from the free throw line before Huber hit a 3-pointer. Lawrence led 17-13 when Yuvraj Sidhu (Coppell, Texas) made a 3-pointer with 5:04 to play in the half. Hill hit a 3-pointer a minute later before the Vikings pushed the lead back to four at 23-19. Kyle Taylor (Moline, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer but the Vikings led 30-24 at the break.

The second half started the same way as the first with Monmouth going without a point for the first 5:16. When Maring made a free throw, the Scots trailed 37-25 and Ryne Schimmel (Moline, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer for the first field goal of the half after a 6:33 drought. Lawrence went on a 5-0 run to open up a 42-28 lead with 11:53 to play. Taylor hit another 3-pointer but the Vikings responded with a bucket. Turner Plumer (Canton, Illinois) had 3-point plays on consecutive possessions to cut the lead to 44-37. Lawrence went on a 7-4 run with all of Monmouth's points coming at the free throw line. The Vikings kept answering any Monmouth points and led 60-45 with 2:38 to play. Junior Sylvestre (Fort Myers, Florida) hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left for the final points of the game.

Huber led the Scots with nine points while Taylor had eight. Maring and Hill both finished with seven points. Taylor led the Scots with seven rebounds and Ganon Greenman (Alpha, Illinois) had six.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Huber tied his season and career high in points as he also scored nine on Jan. 6 at Beloit. Maring set a new career high with seven free throws made. The Scots were 17-for-18 at the free throw line. Monmouth shot just 24% (12-for-50) from the field and they were 5-for-26 on 2-point shots. Monmouth out-rebounded Lawrence 32-29. The Scots are 8-14 against Lawrence under coach Skrivseth, 3-6 in Appleton. Their last win in Appleton was on Feb. 10, 2018. Monmouth won the first meeting this season 72-53 at home on Jan. 3. The Fighting Scots play at home against Lake Forest at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.