Monmouth had the hot hands as the outside temperatures plunged to continue their torrid January, improving to 6-1 for the month, after posting an 86-72 win over Ripon, pulling the Scots into a three-way tie for third in the Midwest Conference with the Red Hawks and Lake Forest. 
 
With Will Carius' 35 points and 14 rebounds leading the way on 14-of-17 shooting, Monmouth was red hot from the floor hitting 35 of their 58 shots (60.3%).  Jonathan Oradiegwu also had the hot hand, finishing with 11 points, and shooting 5-for-5 from the field. The Scots' were in a comfortable lead for most of the game, taking a 40-30 halftime lead and building the margin to 18 midway through the second half. Monmouth, which out-scored Ripon 44-34 in the paint also hit from the perimeter as Tyler Houston canned a pair of threes and finished with 10 points. D.J. Swift added another 10 as the Scots improved to 7-4 in league play.
 
The Scots led for all but the first two minutes of the game in the first meeting of the season between the conference contenders. Monmouth will host Lawrence, currently sixth in the league standings a game behind Monmouth, Ripon and Lake Forest, Saturday at 3 p.m.