Scots Lead at Half but Fall at Knox
The Monmouth College men’s basketball team led throughout the first half but ultimately lost on the road to Knox 87-77 Wednesday night. The Scots (3-17, 2-10) played without leading scorer Jordan Metcalf (Aledo, Illinois) while four players scored in double figures.
Jonathan Oradiegwu (Richmond, Texas) had 14 of his 16 points in the first half as the Scots built a lead. After leading 11-3 the Scots pushed the lead to 18-8 on a bucket by Kendall Brasfield (Chicago, Illinois).
A layup by senior Breck Biedscheid (Washington, Illinois), who started in place of Metcalf, put Monmouth back up by seven with 9:29 to go in the half. The lead bounced between 10 and two the rest of the half with the Scots taking a 41-35 lead into the locker room.
Knox tied the game at 43 and took the lead on a free throw. Will Ewald (Lincoln, Illinois) buried a 3-pointer and the teams traded baskets, and the lead, over the next seven minutes. Ewald scored again to tie the game at 65 with 6:10 to play, but it was all Knox from there.
The Scots scored just two points as the Prairie Fire went on top 78-67 before Beidscheid made two free throws with 1:28 to play. Biedscheid made a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left to cut the Knox lead to eight but Knox made 7-of-8 free throws the rest of the way to ice the game.
Oradiegwu and Brasfield led the Scots with 16 points each. Biedscheid and Ewald both had 12 while Ganon Greenman (Alpha, Illinois) scored nine points. Biedscheid grabbed eight boards, Brasfield had three assists and Greenman snagged a pair of steals.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: The Scots made nine 3-pointers, the most as a team since they hit 10 against Loras on Nov. 10…Biedscheid matched his career points total with a game-high 12…His previous high was four, done twice…He also had a career-high eight rebounds, surpassing his previous high of four from the season opener…The Scots and Prairie Fire have played 225 times, tied for the 8th most in D3 basketball history…Monmouth leads 132-93 with a 14-6 mark under Coach Skrivseth who is now 6-4 in Galesburg…The Scots will host Ripon at 1 p.m. Saturday with Senior Day festivities taking place before the game.
Scots Women in Second Place with Win
The Monmouth College women’s basketball team finished the game on a 13-0 run to stun rival Knox 63-55 and take over second place in Midwest Conference with a Wednesday night road win. Josie Morgan (Washington, Illinois) scored 19 points while Lily Harlan (Washington, Illinois) had a career-high 14 for the Scots (12-6, 9-3).
The teams traded baskets early with neither team leading by more than three until Morgan’s jumper gave Monmouth a 13-9 lead with 55 seconds left in the opening quarter. Kaitlyn Osmulski (Peoria, Illinois) made a 3-pointer with one second left for a 16-12 lead after the first quarter.
Knox took a 17-16 lead before Osmulski made another 3-pointer to start a 5-0 Scots run. Morgan hit a 3-pointer for a six-point lead and after Knox scored, Tarae Warner (Burlington, Iowa) hit a 3-pointer. Jadyn Mitchell (Flanagan, Illinois) put the Scots up by eight before Knox scored five straight. Harlan’s jumper on the last possession of the half gave Monmouth a 31-26 lead.
Morgan’s 3-pointer put the Scots up 34-26 and Jordan Kintigh made it a 10-point lead with 7:16 to go in the third. Another 3-pointer from Morgan put the Scots up nine but the hosts rallied for an 11-0 run to end the quarter with a 43-41 advantage.
Knox pushed the lead to four in the fourth before Mitchell connected from deep.The Prairie Fire scored the next six and led 51-44 before Mitchell scored again. Knox led 53-46 when Harlan hit a 3-pointer with 5:12 left.
Monmouth trailed by six with 3:52 to go and Harlan hit another 3-pointer that started a big run. Osmulski tied the game with a 3-pointer and Harlan gave the Scots the lead for good with 1:04 to play. Morgan hit a clutch 3-pointer with 17 seconds left for a 60-55 lead and then made a free throw after a Knox miss. Warner hit two free throws with two seconds left and the Scots finished the game on a 14-0 run with Knox scoreless over the final 4:16.
Morgan led the way with 19 while Harlan had a career-high 14 points. Osmulski scored nine points while Mitchell had seven. Osmulski led the Scots with a career-high 12 rebounds while she and Warner both had three assists.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: With her first make of the night, Osmulski passed Julie Schroeder (1989-93) for seventh on the Scots career 3-pointers made list with 102…She made another to get within three of Kathleen Forrest (2011-15) for sixth and is also seventh in attempts with 301…Osmulski needs three points for 600 in her career…Morgan made three 3-pointers and is now 15th on the single-season list with 43 on the year…Coach Megan Jones tied the school record for most wins (12) and most conference wins (9) for a first-year coach…Tim Bresnahan went 12-10 in his first season (1990-91) while Katie Marcella’s 2014-15 team went 9-9 in MWC play…The Scots last won at Knox on Dec. 10, 2013, having lost six straight in Galesburg before Wednesday…Monmouth leads the all-time series 61-38…The Scots will host first-place Ripon at 3 p.m. Saturday with the four seniors honored pregame..
***Game recaps courtesy of Monmouth College Athletic Department***
