by Nathan Baliva, nbaliva@monmouthcollege.edu
The Monmouth College men’s basketball team picked up a big road win on Saturday as they outlasted Ripon 60-59. The Scots (10-6, 4-3) have won four straight road games and are 3-0 in the MWC away from home.
Neither team got any separation early with the game tied eight times in the first half. Monmouth had their biggest lead at 20-16 when Yuvraj Sidhu (Coppell, Texas) scored four straight with a bucket and two free throws. Ripon went on a 13-2 run from there to lead 29-22. David Williams (Loves Park, Illinois) ended the run and Kyle Taylor (Moline, Illinois) made a layup to cut the lead to 29-26 at half. Jordan Hill (Chicago, Illinois) scored five points in the half to lead the Scots.
Turner Plumer (Canton, Illinois) started the second half scoring with a free throw and Hill scored five straight to tie the game at 32. Plumer scored again and Declan Flynn (Monmouth, Illinois) scored five straight for a 40-36 Monmouth lead. Ripon regained the lead before Flynn made two free throws and neither team led by more than two the rest of the way. Plumber made four straight free throws and Flynn hit a 3-pointer for a 58-57 lead with 1:48 to play. After Ripon scored. Plumer made two free throws with 49 seconds left for a 60-59 Monmouth lead. Ripon missed a 3-pointer and Hill grabbed the rebound. Monmouth missed two free throws and Ripon got the ball back with 8.7 seconds to play. After the Scots used their fouls, Ripon got the ball with 2.8 seconds left but a 3-pointer fell well short as Monmouth held on to win.
Flynn led the Scots with 12 points while Plumer had 11 and Hill added 10. Hill had eight rebounds and Williams added five. Taylor had three steals while Ganon Greenman (Alpha, Illinois) and Brennen McNally (Paw Paw, Illinois) led the Scots with two assists each.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Hill has scored at least 10 points in 10 games this season. He also tied his season high with eight reboundsFlynn has six games in double digits. He has made at least two 3-pointers in four games. Plumer has seven games in double figuresTaylor tied his season high with three stealsMonmouth shot 31 free throws to four for Ripon. Monmouth was 20-for-31 at the line, 15-for-20 in the second half. Plumer was 7-for-8 at the line, a career high in FTM. The Scots won the rebound battle 30-29 and had one less turnover. Last year the Scots won both games, including an 82-73 win in Ripon. Monmouth is 6-4 in the last 10 games against Ripon and 5-2 in the last seven road games in the series. Ripon leads the all-time series 75-65. The teams play again in Monmouth on Saturday, Feb 10The Fighting Scots next play at home on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. against Grinnell.
