Williams Scores 24 but Scots Drop Season Finale at Grinnell

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (02/17/2024) — The Monmouth College men's basketball team lost the season finale 111-86 at Grinnell College on Saturday. The Scots (13-12, 7-9) were led in scoring by senior David Williams (Loves Park, Illinois) with 24 points.

Jordan Hill (Chicago, Illinois) started the scoring before Grinnell took a 9-4 lead. Hill and Turner Plumer (Canton, Illinois) both had four points in the first five minutes and Williams made a layup to cut Grinnell's lead to one. The Pioneers pushed the lead to 27-15 before Hill made two free throws. Williams hit a 3-pointer and Hill scored four straight to pull the Scots back within eight. The Pioneers went on a run to lead 46-27 before Williams and Plumer scored. Monmouth made four free throws in the last minute of the half to trail 56-39 at the break.

Grinnell started the second half on a 10-2 run with Williams scoring the Scots only basket. Williams hit a 3-pointer but the deficit grew to 70-44. Ganon Greenman (Alpha, Illinois) added a 3-point play but Grinnell answered with a 10-0 run. Williams hit another 3-pointer with 11:51 to play and the Scots down 83-54. Plumer capped a 7-0 run and Max Maring (Port Byron, Illinois) made two free throws. Declan Flynn (Monmouth, Illinois) added a basket and Williams scored five straight. However the Pioneers never stopped scoring and pushed the lead to 96-69. Freshman Brennan Horton-Lee (Rockford, Illinois) scored five straight points late in the game. Damarian Stark (Roscoe, Illinois) and Jay Brown (Lansing, Illinois) both scored buckets as well. Stark made a 3-pointer and Horton-Lee finished off the scoring for the Scots.

Williams led the Scots with 24 points while knocking down 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Plumer had 14 points while Hill had 12. Flynn led the Scots with eight rebounds and Plumer had six. Kyle Taylor (Moline, Illinois) had three assists and Hill added two steals.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Hill has scored in double figures 17 times this season, 11 times in MWC action. Plumer has scored in double figures 15 times, including 11 MWC games. Both have tallied double figures in seven straight games. Williams also had 24 points in the first game against Grinnell. He scored in double digits nine times this season. Grinnell was 17-for-53 from 3-point range. The Scots won the rebound battle 50-48. Horton-Lee had a career-high seven pointsBrown scored his first basket of the season. Stark tied his season-high from Dec. 6 against Illinois College. Monmouth won the first matchup 104-91 at home last month. The winner has topped 100 points in 40 of the last 52 meetings. Skrivseth is 12-13 against Grinnell, 6-7 away from home.