Monmouth held high flying Grinnell 25 points below their average Wednesday night, downing the Pioneers 99-89, their eighth win in the last nine games against the Grinnell System.
 
The Scots took just nine 3-pointers, making five while holding the 3-point prone Pioneers to just 12-of-41 from long range to draw into a five-way tie for second place in the Midwest Conference.
 
Trailing 45-41 at the half, Monmouth quickly cut the margin to one at 48-47 when Dee Hyler drove for a layup at the 17:36 mark of the second half on his way to a team-high 19 points, leading six in double figures. Trevor Davis' bucket inside knotted the game at 58-all with 13:32 left. A half minute later Devin Yocum scored on a layup to give Monmouth a second half lead they would not surrender.
 
Nursing a double digit lead in the final five minutes, Monmouth stretched the lead to as many as 14 on Hyler free throws with 47 seconds to play. The Pioneers kept firing, whittling the deficit to nine on a 3-ball with 34 seconds left, but couldn't get any of their next three shots from beyond the arc to fall.
 
The Scots host Lawrence, one of four teams tied with Monmouth for second in the MWC standings, Saturday at 1 p.m.