Monmouth nearly knocked off league-favorite St. Norbert on the Green Knights' home court Friday, but a late surge by the hosts held off the Scots 67-50.
 
St. Norbert led from wire-to-wire, but couldn't shake the defending Midwest Conference champions until the final minutes. The Scots trailed just 25-21 at the half when D.J. Swift drained a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left on his way to a 16-point night. Will Carius followed to open the second half, scoring four of his 16 points in the first two minutes to cut the Knights' lead to 27-25, but that would be as close at the Scots would get in the league opener.
 
After a Carius' jumper with just under eight minutes to play kept the Scots within three possessions, St. Norbert countered with a 12-2 run to open an 18-point gap heading into the final 30 seconds to ice the contest.
 
The Scots visit Beloit Saturday in a 3 p.m. matchup.