A year ago, Jim Dibble was fouled on a short jumper, and he sank both free throws for a dramatic 86-85 Scots' victory. This year, Travis Miller was the hero of the Scots' 76-75 win over the nationally-ranked Red Hawks. With the score tied and just one second on the shot clock and two seconds on the game clock, Miller was fouled attempting to convert an alley-oop inbounds play. He made his second free throw, then batted away Ripon's inbounds pass at midcourt.
Every starter made a major contribution for the Scots, who improved to 10-9 overall and 7-6 in the Midwest Conference. Chris Hebeler scored 17 points in the second half to lead Monmouth with 23, and Jason Murren was solid once again, posting a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. On consecutive possessions in the final four minutes, Joe Terwelp converted a putback and a three-pointer for his only points of the night, and Anthony Beaird chipped in a trio of three-pointers, in the process breaking the Scots' single-season record. Beaird, who has 72 treys this season, broke the career record last night. Both marks had been owned by the Scots' all-time leading scorer, Lance Castle.
Ripon, ranked 20th nationally by D3hoops.com, was led by MWC Player of the Year candidate Tommy Becker, who had 28 points. David McMullen added eight points, seven assists and six rebounds.