MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Alma College men's basketball team concluded a weekend road trip with a game in Illinois against the Monmouth College Fighting Scots. In a battle of the Scots, Alma was defeated in the second of a back-to-back game weekend by a final score of 85-56.
Opening the game, Tyshaun Walker scored the game's first basket, knocking down a three for the second game in a row to open the scoring for Alma. Landen Moore-Pierce would knock down a three and a layup to give Alma a six-point lead early on, Alma largest lead of the game. The Fighting Scots would come back and put together a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game before a Moore-Pierce layup again put Alma back on top. Monmouth then again strung together another 7-0 run to regain the lead, which they would hold for several minutes in the middle of the first half. Alma was able to tie the game with just under five minutes remaining in the half on a three from Moore-Pierce. Alma battled hard in the waning minutes of the first keeping within two possessions until they were able to tie it again, this time under two minutes left. Connor Riley would knock down two free-throws with just over a minute remaining to give Alma their first lead since the 12-minute mark in the first half. The Fighting Scots scored on a jumper to tie the game before a free-throw would send Alma into the half trailing 31-30.
Alma again scored first to open the half on a layup from Riley, assisted by Walker, regaining a one-point lead. Monmouth then scored six unanswered points to take a five-point lead before a three from Riley brought the Scots within two, the closest Alma would come for the remainder of the game. Following a seven-minute scoring drought, Nolan Boffman tallied a point from the charity stripe putting Alma back on the board, trailing 53-36. Alma would slowly continue to convert on offensive possessions, though the deficit seemed too large to overcome following a fast-paced and unique game the night before. The Scots ultimately finished the road trip with a 1-1 record, dropping the second game by a final score of 85-56.
Riley led the Scots scoring 20 points on the night, while Moore-Pierce scored 13 for Alma's next highest. Colton Meister grabbed seven boards in the game leading all players for the game. Riley also led Alma with 3 assists in the game, while Walker and Boffman each recorded two. The Scots bench was able to outscore Monmouth's bench, 25-13, though two Fighting Scots players finished the game with 20+ points and another finished with 19.
Alma will now travel back to Michigan and prepare for a weekend matchup against Defiance College on Saturday, December 16th. Tipoff is set for 3:00 PM in Art Smith Arena.
