Men’s basketball puts out the Prairie Fire

By: Mallory Mulvihill
Asst. Sports Editor

As the Monmouth College men’s basketball team reaches the end of their season, the post season is in the distance but the men still have their pride. The men have won the last two of three games, the last of which was against rival Knox, and the first against conference powerhouse Lawrence.

The men took on Lawrence University on Feb. 22. Lawrence, which has been a force to be reckoned with in previous seasons, is struggling in the conference with a record of 6-5 and an overall record of 10-8. The first five minutes of the game was a coin toss as the teams traded baskets and had five ties before the Scots pulled away on a 3-pointer by junior Andy Moore. The Scots went into the break up by eight when Lawrence guard Doug Kadison hit a short jumper with six seconds to go. The men never lost their lead in the second half, although it was within one with eleven minutes left in the game. The momentum went in favor of the Scots when freshman Tyler Morrow got the put-back and junior Joe Terwelp had a nice post move in the paint with just under ten minutes to go. The men won the game by a comfortable eight points, 71-63. Moore led the Scots with 18 points, followed by Terwelp and senior Raun Singleton with 13 apiece.

After beating the Carroll Pioneers earlier in the season 83-81, the outcome of this game wasn’t so much in the favor of the Scots as they lost by a large margin 81-59 on Feb. 3. The men remained close during the first ten minutes of the game, but went into the half down by eleven. The second half wasn’t much better in favor of the Scots, as they watched the Pioneer lead get as high as 32. The Scots had a hard time stopping preseason All-American Nathan Drury, who finished with a game-high 23 points to go along with 7 assists. The men struggled from the field, shooting only 34 percent for the game. Joe Terwelp was the only Scot to finish in double digits with 14 points.

The Scots came out of the weekend even, going into the most looked-forward-to game of the year against Knox at home on Feb. 7. The men lost to the Prairie Fire earlier in the year, 70-63. The Scots were without Terwelp due to the flu the first time around, but Terwelp was nothing but healthy in front of a crowd that was near 1200. The game was everything that a MonmouthKnox game usually is. It was full of cheers and jeers along with major fan support from each team. The first half was a back-and-forth battle which saw four ties and five lead changes. The Scots ended the half on a 3-pointer by Singleton as the buzzer sounded ,putting the Scots up 44-38. The Scots’ shooting was unconscious in the first half, as they shot more than 50 percent from the field and from behind the arc. They also shot well from the free throw line, which has been a struggle for them in games past, shooting 83 percent.

The second half was just as much of a battle as the first. The Prairie Fire took the lead away from the Scots within the first three minutes of the game, but it was quickly reclaimed back on a jumper from Terwelp. The second half saw eleven lead changes that started early in the game and ended with three minutes left to play on a 3-pointer from senior Caleb Bennett. Bennett scored the last five points of the game, as the Scots won 73-70. The men struggled from the field in the second half, shooting only 37 percent from the field and a poor 13 percent from behind the arc. The Scots went back to their free throw shooting woes in the second half, shooting only 43 percent and 55 percent for the game. The men did see a handful of players with double-digit scoring. Junior Blaise Rogers and Terwelp finished with 13 points apiece, followed closely by Singleton, Bennett and senior Josh Reschke each with ten.

With only two games left to play, the men have nothing left to play for except pride. The men play Illinois College in Jacksonville on Feb. 10 for their final road game, and Lake Forest at home for the final game of the season on Feb. 14.