Box Score Monmouth finished strong, but their rally fell just short in a 75-65 season-opening loss to Simpson.
 
Justin Aluya and Will Jones heated up in the second half, rallying the Scots from a 19-point first half deficit. Lamont Mitchell opened the second half with a 3-pointer followed by a Will Jones bucket in the lane and a 3-ball to cut the hole to 13 at 48-35 just two minutes into the second half. Monmouth flirted with cutting the margin to single digits for the entire second half, but couldn't get over the hump despite a double-double from Aluya of 19 points and 12 rebounds. Jones added 17 points, 14 in the second half.
 
The Scots open league play next Tuesday hosting Illinois College.