The Monmouth College men’s basketball team trailed by 12 at half, led by 10 with 5:28 to play but ultimately lost 78-77 at Eureka College on Monday night. The Scots head into the holiday break at 6-5 with 11 days off before the final game of December.
The Red Devils scored the first four points of the game before Jordan Metcalf (Aledo, Illinois) converted a jumper. Monmouth trailed 10-2 with David Williams (Loves Park, Illinois) got a layup and Metcalf dunked to cut the Eureka lead back to six. The hosts scored the next four and eventually pushed the lead to 22-9 before Yuvraj Sidhu (Coppell, Texas) scored in the paint. Jordan Hill (Chicago, Illinois) made a pair of free throws but the Eureka lead grew to 27-13 and . Kendall Brasfield (Chicago, Illinois) made two free throws. Hill made another free throw but the Scots missed 11 straight field goal attempts over more than eight minutes as Eureka led 33-16. Turner Plumer (Canton, Illinois) ended the drought with a 3-pointer before Eureka scored with 2:05 to play in the half. Plumer got a steal and a layup before Williams made two free throws to cut the Red Devils lead to 12. Neither team scored over the last 90 seconds of the half as Eureka took a 35-23 lead into the locker rooms.
Eureka scored first in the second half to go on top 37-23. Metcalf scored four of the next five points before Williams hit a 3-pointer and Metcalf scored again for a 10-0 run. Williams hit another long-distance shot to cut the lead to three before Brasfield made a layup. Hill tied the game at 40 with 14:32 left and the Scots took their first lead on a dunk by Brasfield 19 seconds later. The lead grew to 44-40 on a pair of free throws from Metcalf, capping a 21-3 run. Eureka scored the next seven before Kyle Taylor (Moline, Illinois) tied the game at 47 with a 3-pointer. Monmouth went back on top with three free throws to start a 9-0 run. Taylor made another 3-pointer for a 63-53 lead with 5:28 to play. The Scots went cold and Eureka scored the next eight points before Metcalf made two free throws with 3:56 left.
Williams and Metcalf both scored around Eureka baskets and the hosts got within one with 2:50 to play. The hosts made two free throws to take the lead before Metcalf hit a pair from the charity stripe. Hill’s layup put the Scots up 73-70 with 1:38 left and Eureka called timeout. The Red Devils scored and got a stop before making two free throws for a 74-73 lead. The Scots turned it over at midcourt and Eureka’s layup put the hosts on top by three. Monmouth threw the ball away on the inbounds pass with 25 seconds left and the Red Devils split free throws but got the offensive rebound. They missed both free throws and Plumer made a free throw before missing the second with 6.1 seconds to play. The Red Devils split free throws for a 78-74 lead and Taylor made a 3-pointer at the buzzer but the clock expired with the Scots down 78-77.
Metcalf led the Scots with 18 points and nine rebounds. Williams and Taylor both scored 13 points and Williams grabbed seven boards. Brasfield scored 11 points while making five free throws. Taylor led the team with two assists. No Box Score was available at time of press release.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Monmouth is 30-11 all-time against Eureka, 6-5 under SkrivsethMonmouth beat Eureka 83-75 at home on Nov. 9, overturning a 16-point halftime deficitThe Red Devils won the matchup 94-68 last season in EurekaMonmouth had seven players with at least seven pointsWilliams has made at least one 3-pointer in all 11 gamesThe Scots made a season-high 25 free throwsThe Scots are next in action on Dec. 30 at Aurora.
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
