The Monmouth College men's basketball team ended December with a 76-64 road loss to Aurora University on Friday night. The Scots (6-6) return to Midwest Conference action on Monday, at home against Lawrence. 

Kendall Brasfield (Chicago, Illinois) scored four of the first seven points for the Scots who led 7-5. He grabbed another bucket and so did Declan Flynn (Monmouth, Illinois) as the Scots kept the lead after five minutes. Jordan Hill (Chicago, Illinois) added a pair of free throws and Yuvraj Sidhu (Coppell, Texas) scored before Aurora tied the game at 16. The Spartans pushed the lead to 24-18 before Turner Plumer (Canton, Illinois) scored. Aurora went on an 8-2 run before Brasfield hit a 3-pointer with 3:22 left in the half. He added a free throw but Aurora finished the half on a 10-1 run to lead 42-26. 

The Spartans scored the first five of the second half to lead by 21 before Jordan Metcalf (Aledo, Illinois) scored two straight baskets. Kyle Taylor (Moline, Illinois) added a 3-pointer but Aurora pushed the lead back to 18. Monmouth went on a 6-0 run and eventually cut the lead to nine with 10 minutes to play. The lead grew back to 16 when Taylor hit a 3-pointer and Brasfield scored three straight points. But 10 points was as close as the gap got the rest of the way with Aurora making some late free throws for the 76-64 win. 

Brasfield was 8-for-16 from the field for a team-leading 19 points. Taylor hit three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points while Hill had 10. Metcalf led the Scots with 11 rebounds to go with nine points while both Taylor and Sidhu had three assists. The Scots made 12-of-18 from the free throw line but were 4-for-23 from 3-point range with Taylor going 3-for-4. 

The Scots are home twice this week in MWC action. They will host Lawrence on Monday, following the women's game at 5 p.m. Saturday's game against Beloit follows the women's game against the Buccaneers at 1 p.m.