MONMOUTH, Ill. – The last men's basketball team to beat Monmouth more than one month ago, Cornell came up short in Wednesday's rematch, 81-65, at Glennie Gym.
 
Monmouth (19-5 overall, 13-2 MWC) secured the Midwest Conference regular-season title and No. 1 seed in next week's tournament, while the Rams (14-10 overall, 8-7 MWC) now face a must-win scenario Saturday for a chance at a postseason berth.
 
The Rams need a win over Knox (4-20 overall, 1-14 MWC) AND a Lake Forest loss at Beloit to qualify for the four-team MWC Tournament. The Senior Day tipoff is 3 p.m. in the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
 
Monmouth, Grinnell (11-4 MWC) and Illinois College (10-6) are in the tournament field. Lake Forest is currently in the fourth position at 9-6, followed by Cornell and Ripon both at 8-7.
 
The Rams, who rolled to a 17-point win over Monmouth on Jan. 14, had a big hole to climb out of Wednesday trailing 51-34 early in the second half. Cornell quickly shot its way back in the game and cut the deficit to 56-55 on a Zach Ingle 3-pointer with 12:39 remaining.
 
Monmouth answered with a 12-1 run over the next five minutes that ultimately decided the outcome.
 
Cornell's Jayden Meeker turned in his fourth consecutive double-double and seventh of the season with 20 points and 11 boards. He also dished a team-high four assists.
 
Ingle finished with 18 points, while Dylan Hurley pitched in 12 points and six rebounds.
 
Monmouth leaned heavily on its 6-foot-6 freshman Zay Brown, who totaled 31 points and 19 rebounds. The Rams held him to eight points in the previous meeting in Mount Vernon.    
 
The Fighting Scots owned a 39-27 rebounding advantage and attempted 21 more shots than the Rams.