The Monmouth College men’s basketball team has experienced a rough 2007-08 season, but hope to bring some “W’s” in their remaining games.

The game against Grinnell College, originally scheduled for Feb. 5, was cancelled due to weather and travel conditions. The game will be postponed to Feb. 18 in Grinnell, Iowa.

Most recently, the Scots lost star senior, Blaise Rogers, due to a decision which will leave the team without good-old number “4.” Before Rogers left, he was third on the team in scoring and rebounding.

Without Rogers, the Scots are going to have to look deep into their roster to get back to where they want to be.

Senior Joe Terwelp and freshman Alex Tanney will have to step-up now, like they have the entire season. Most recently, in a game against Beloit College on Jan. 26, Terwelp joined elite status in the history of Monmouth College, becoming the 21st member of the men’s 1,000 point club.

Terwelp’s milestone came early in the second half of play against Beloit. His current total of 1,008 points puts him 19th overall on the career list for the Scots. Terwelp has averaged 16 points per game this season.

Other major contributors for the Scots include senior Scott Scholten and junior Kyle Weyeneth.

Terwelp has nabbed down 103 total rebounds for an average of 6.4 this year, and Tanney has grabbed 86 for an average of 5.7.

Terwelp leads the team in assists with a total of 30, while freshman Eric Grant has contributed 28.

As for long range shooters, Tanney has connected 34 times from beyond the arch. Scholten has hit 19 times. 

The Scots are looking forward to the remainder of the season as they get ready to take on Lawrence University on Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Appleton, Wis.

The head coach of the men, Mark Vershaw, stated, “We are trying to improve in learning how to finish strong in games through some situational work in practice. We have been in close games all year in the conference and need to improve in our last five minutes of games.”

The Fighting Scots have six remaining games, five of which are road games. “Playing on the road demands a ‘refuse to loose’ mentality, and an ability to execute down the stretch. Hopefully, we will find ourselves in close games and will be better in our execution,” added Vershaw.

 On Saturday, Feb. 9, coming off of their Friday night match against Lawrence, the Scots will travel north to Waukesha, Wis., to take on Carroll College at 3 p.m.

The Fighting Scots are in seventh place in Midwest Conference play with a 4-12 overall record. In conference play, they are 4-6.

Looking ahead in the schedule, Monmouth will take on rivals Knox College on Feb. 13 in Galesburg at 7:30 p.m.

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