MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Loras College men's basketball team took down the Monmouth College Scots 81-59 on Thursday night inside Glennie Gymnasium.

After both squads traded baskets to open the game, an Emmett Loew three capped off a 12-0 Loras run that gave them a 15-5 lead with 11:38 remaining in the first half. Nolan Berendes gave the Duhakws their largest lead of the half (35-14) with a three pointer of his own as Loras took a 40-26 lead into halftime.

Coming out of the break, Berendes and Loew connected on back-to-back threes to jump start a second half that was all Loras. The Purple and Gold led by as many as 27 at one point thanks to 46.1 percent shooting from deep in the second half.

Berendes paced the Duhawks (8-3 Overall, 3-0 American Rivers Conference) with 24 points and 13 rebounds, both game-highs. The Dubuque, Iowa native was 9-of-14 from the field, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Kyle Kober added 16 points while Loew added nine. As a team, Loras shot a season best 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from three.

Monmouth (8-3, 3-0 Midwest Conference) was led by Zay Brown who had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Scots while Cameron Thomas finished with 11.

Up Next: Loras will return home on Dec. 29 for the Loras Holiday Classic to take on Bethany Lutheran College. Tip-off from Lillis Court is set for 6 p.m.