January 11, 1999
MONMOUTH, IL -- The Monmouth men’s basketball team blasted out of the holiday vacation in record-setting fashion last weekend, winning both ends of a crucial Midwest Conference doubleheader at Glennie Gymnasium. Monmouth, which had lost its last three games prior to the Christmas break, improved to 5-4 on the season and sports a perfect 4-0 MWC league record after defeating Grinnell and Lake Forest this past weekend.
Despite sub-zero temperatures outside, the Scots managed to keep hot inside as Monmouth set several team records en route to a 140-107 victory against Grinnell on Friday night. The 140 points were the most ever scored in a single game by Monmouth, which also established a first-half scoring mark with 81 points. The team also broke the single-game record for field-goal percentage, converting 58 of 68 shots for an amazing 85% clip.

Senior guard Trevor Hiel (Prairie City,IL/Bushnell-Prairie City HS) scored a team-high 33 points, including 15 of 16 from the floor. Many of Hiel’s shots were fast-break layups as the Scots managed to counter Grinnell’s run-and-gun offensive scheme with tough defense and easy shots. Freshman Steve Glasgow (Galesburg,IL/HS) scored a season-high 22 points and senior Eric Matthews (Knoxville,IL/HS) added 20 as seven Monmouth players scored in double figures. Senior Jeremy Bruce (Lincoln,IL/HS) scored 10 points and also collected a team-high 11 rebounds.

The 140 points came with only one made three-point goal as Monmouth attempted just two shots beyond the arc. Ironically the lone three-pointer was the shot which broke the old record of 136 points, set in 1991 also against Grinnell. Glasgow had the honor of making the record-breaking shot, hitting a jumper from the top of the key with 1:57 left on the clock. Monmouth had hit the 100-point barrier on a dunk by junior Kyle Duane (Galesburg,IL/HS) with just six minutes gone in the second half.

Monmouth was able to adjust to a completely different style of play against Lake Forest on Saturday, winning by a 68-56 score. The Foresters played a slow, methodical tempo and actually led at the half 28-27. After the teams traded leads several time in the second 20 minutes, the score was tied at 41-41 with 9:25 remaining. Monmouth went on a 20-5 run over the next seven minutes to pull away for the win, led by the efforts of junior Kent Froebe (Tremont,IL/ HS) who scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in that span. Glasgow added 13 points for the Scots, who also held a 44-37 rebounding advantage over Lake Forest.