Another strong showing by Anthony Beaird and a near-triple double by Travis Miller were not enough to keep the Monmouth College Fighting Scots from falling to 0-2 on the year with an 88-80 loss at Aurora University.
Beaird knocked down 9-of-19 three-pointers on his way to 31 points and, counting last season's finale, he's now scored 30 points or more in three straight games. Miller, the Scots' do-everything swingman, added 15 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists and Tucker Blaser netted 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting.
Capped by Beaird's first trey of the night, Monmouth jumped out to a 7-0 lead and stayed in front for most of the first half before going into the locker room trailing by two, 40-38. With 10 minutes left in the game, the Scots were up 63-61, but a 14-3 run by the Spartans put them in control the rest of the way.
Poor shooting doomed the Scots as, other than Beaird, the Scots were just 1-of-16 from beyond the arc, and the team finished an abysmal 4-of-16 at the foul line.
Aurora received 29 points from Adam McCoy and 23 from Larry Welton.