MONMOUTH, Ill. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team turned back Monmouth College Saturday and scored a 66-62 Midwest Conference victory at Glennie Gymnasium.
Ben Peterson led three Vikings in double figures with 14 points and hit 5-of-7 shots from the floor, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Jeremy Stephani added 12 points and Eric Weiss had 10 for the Vikings (4-6, 4-2 MWC). Mitch Willer chipped in with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds for Lawrence.
Lamont Mitchell led Monmouth (2-9, 2-4) with 18 points and added eight rebounds but committed a key turnover in the final seconds.
Lawrence built its biggest lead at 58-47 on Stephani’s 3-pointer with eight minutes remaining, but the Scots kept chipping away at the lead.
Justin Aluya’s two free throws cut Lawrence’s lead to 61-58 with 2:50 remaining, but Weiss answered with a short jumper for Lawrence. Aluya added another free throw to cut the lead to 63-59 with 1:24 left.
Thanks to a missed shot and a turnover from both teams, the score stayed the same until Mitchell made two free throws with 34 seconds left to cut the lead to 63-61.
Lawrence’s Quinn Fisher was fouled but missed the front end of a bonus. The Vikings forced a Monmouth turnover, and Fisher was fouled again. He made one free throw with 14 seconds remaining to push the lead to 64-61.
Mitchell was fouled with eight seconds left but made just one free throw to cut the margin to 64-62. Peterson grabbed Mitchell’s miss and was fouled but missed the front end of the bonus to give Monmouth another chance.
Lawrence’s defense stymied Mitchell, who was called for a travel with four seconds remaining. Weiss then made a pair of free throws to seal the win.
Lawrence led from the opening minute, and the Vikings were up by as many as seven points in the first half. The Scots rallied and tied the game at 31-31 at the half.
The Vikings scored the first five points of the second half and led by as many as seven points before Monmouth rallied. The Scots went on a 9-0 run to take their only lead of the game at 45-43. Lawrence responded with a 12-0 as Peterson hit two 3-pointers and Weiss and Stephani each added a triple to give the Vikings a 55-45 advantage.