The Beloit College men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker Saturday afternoon. After taking Monmouth down to the wire, the Buccaneers fell to Monmouth College, listed second in the Midwest Conference standings, 63-61.

The Bucs didn't shoot particularly well in the first half but they hit more three's and were a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line to head into halftime with a 28-25 lead. Keelin Norman-Klatt had the play of the half coming in off the bench, nailing a three from the corner and knocking down the subsequent free throw after a foul on the shot for the coveted four-point play. 

The second half went back-and-forth with the biggest lead posted at six points which both teams hit during the period. Monmouth was the last to have the six-point advantage after two free throws made it 60-54 with 2:06 on the clock. Mason Jones hauled in a rebound on the ensuing possession and was fouled on the put back attempt making one of two. After an empty possession by the Scots, the Watlers' came up big for the Bucs. Andrew Walters pulled down the missed three-pointer and the Bucs moved the ball quickly with Tristan Shoup finding Mylan Walters for a triple to cut the deficit to two, 60-58 with just over a minute remaining. Beloit Head Coach Josh Hinz called an immediate timeout. 

Fourteen seconds ticked off the clock after the inbounds for Monmouth when Beloit fouled the Scots. Two made free throws pushed the lead back to four with 50 seconds to go. It took less than 15 seconds for Beloit to bring the ball up and Jones to find Mylan Walters who drained another long ball to cut the lead to one, 62-61, with 35 seconds to go. Once again, the Bucs called timeout to set up their defense. 

With the shot clock still a factor, the Bucs played shutdown defense until a foul was called with 14 seconds to play. The Scots missed both attempts with Andrew Walters hauling in the defensive board. Beloit got the ball into Shoup on the left side of the paint. A controversial no-call on the shot attempt had the Buccaneer faithful loud in the stands as it looked like Shoup was hit on the way up. Instead, Beloit was forced to foul immediately. Monmouth made one of two to make it 63-61 and, with just eight-tenths of a second remaining, Beloit's final heave from passed half court was no good for the final. 

Shoup led Beloit with 16 points on 7-14 from the floor adding a game-high six assists in the game. Mylan Walters was 5-6 from downtown for 15 points while Andrew Walters led all players with 10 rebounds. 

Up Next: The Bucs head north to face Ripon College Tuesday, January 21. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.