MONMOUTH, IL – Tyler Houston’s four-straight points in a seven-second span pulled Monmouth within a bucket at 80-78 with 2:51 left in the game, but the Scots couldn’t get over the hump in a 91-82 loss at Loras.
Dee Hyler answered a Duhawk bucket with one of his own to keep the Scots within a possession at 82-80 with 2:00 left before Loras scored seven unanswered points to pull away in the final minute.
The teams had traded the lead seven times and tied seven more before the Duhawks took the lead for good on a bucket-and-one at the 13:55 mark of the second half. Loras stretched their 55-52 lead to as many as 15 points on a 3-pointer with 7:49 remaining, but the Scots refused to surrender and chipped away with a Jake Rueter bucket-and-one, a pair of layups from Justin Batterton and a 3-ball by D.J. Swift to cut the margin to 78-72 with 5:21 to play.
Swift finished with 18 points, one more than Hyler’s 17 while Devin Yocum pumped in 13 points in a starting role. Monmouth shot over 52 percent from the floor, but couldn’t match the Duhawks’ 60 percent on their home court.
Monmouth returns to Midwest Conference play this weekend, hosting league favorite St. Norbert Friday night at 5:30 and Beloit Saturday at 1 p.m.
