A pair of 3-pointers at the end rimmed out, ending Monmouth's rally in an 80-77 loss at Cornell.
 
The Scots came from 13 points down with 16:28 to play when D.J. Swift canned a 3-pointer and a jumper, and Justin Batterton scored inside to pull Monmouth within seven at 46-39. Monmouth inched closer on a pair of Tyler Houston layups and Jake Rueter's 3-ball. A bucket-and-one by Will Carius on his way to a 30-point, 10-rebound night made it a one-point game with the Rams nursing a 50-49 lead at the 11:43 mark.
 
The Rams pushed back, scoring eight unanswered points, but couldn't hold off Monmouth over the next three minutes when the Scots reclaimed the lead twice, first on Swift's two free throws with 6:03 to play and again when Carius hit a pair of charity tosses on the next possession for a 63-62 lead. Cornell answered one more time, taking the lead for good on a bucket inside and stretching the lead with a 3-pointer.
 
Monmouth had one last run, pulling to 76-72 on a Carius trey and climbing to 80-77 on another Swift three with 10 seconds to play. Following a Rams turnover on the inbounds play, Swift's three from the baseline rimmed out, but was pulled down by Carius who kicked it back to Swift for a final shot at the buzzer, but the potential tying shot rattled out.
 
Carius' game-high 30 points came on 10-of-17 shooting, including 8-for-9 from the line. Swift added 13, Batterton 12 and Houston 11.
 
Monmouth travels to Grinnell Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip off.