Story by Kadin Rogers
The Monmouth College men’s basketball team is coming off a two game stretch of down to the wire finishes as the Scots inch closer to the end of the regular season. Last Tuesday, the Scots took the short trip 15 minutes east to take on rival Knox at Memorial Gym. Trailing by one with just a few seconds to play in regulation, the Scots would end up missing the game tying free throw, however in a play that has been deemed “The Putback” on campus, Monmouth sophomore Turner Plumer would tip in the go ahead basket as time expired, as the Scots escaped with a 65-64 win over the Prairie Fire. Coming off that exciting win, Monmouth would host Ripon on Saturday in a very important game in the Midwest Conference. In another thriller in overtime, the Scots would come up short in this one, as the Redhawks pulled away with an 83-75 win in OT. After their past week of action, Monmouth now sits at 13-10 overall and 7-7 in MWC play with just two games left in the regular season for all conference teams.
Speaking on the WRAM Morning Show this morning, Monmouth College Sports Information Director Natan Baliva discussed the Scots path to locking up a top 4 conference seed, and a spot in the MWC tourney starting in less than two weeks.
Currently, Illinois College and Grinnell are the two teams to clinch a bid in the MWC tournament, with the final two spots up for grabs between 8-6 Beloit, 7-7 Ripon, 7-7 Monmouth, and 6-8 Lake Forest. The Scots wrap up regular season play with two games on the road at Cornell and Grinell. For the full interview with Monmouth College Sports Information Director Nathan Baliva, go to the Sports Podcast section.
