MONMOUTH, Ill. — Tyler Crisman poured in 29 points to lead the Lawrence University men’s basketball team to an 87-74 Midwest Conference victory at Glennie Gymnasium on Friday night.
Crisman was 10-for-14 from the floor, including 7-for-10 from 3-point range. The 29 points was a season high for Crisman and one point shy of his career high of 30, set at Beloit College on Feb. 12, 2011.
Chris Siebert added 19 points and a game-high five assists for the Vikings (3-4, 2-2 MWC). Conor Klusendorf chipped in with 15 points, and Davis DeWolfe had 10. Both Klusendorf and DeWolfe tied for game-high honors with six rebounds.
Kenny Foster paced Monmouth (1-5, 1-3) with 26 points.
Lawrence led by as many as nine points early in the first half, but Monmouth came back to take a 36-32 lead at the break. Lawrence regained the lead in the first 30 seconds of the second half courtesy of a Siebert 3-pointer and a Klusendorf dunk.
The Vikings slowly built their lead to as many as 12 points before the Scots rallied. Monmouth chipped away at the lead and cut it to 71-70 with 3:03 left.
Siebert answered with a jumper for the Vikings, and Klusendorf followed with a steal and dunk to give the Vikings 75-70 lead. After a miss by the Scots, Klusendorf got a layup to put Lawrence up 77-70 with 1:29 left.
Foster hit a jumper with 1:22 left to cut the lead back to 77-72, and Lawrence turned the ball on its next possession. That’s when the wheels fell off for Monmouth. The Scots were whistled for an offensive foul, and Foster picked up a technical foul.
Lawrence hit six consecutive free throws before Monmouth ever got the ball back to lead 83-72 and seal the victory.
Lawrence returns to action Monday when it travels to Florida to face Southeastern University.