APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University men's basketball team was in a must-win situation in its season finale Sunday, and the Vikings took care of business.
    Lawrence downed Monmouth College 81-72 in a Midwest Conference game at Alexander Gymnasium, and the win kept alive the Vikings' hopes for a berth in the four-team league tournament.
    The win moves the Vikings to 12-13 overall and a 9-7 mark in the Midwest Conference. Lawrence needs Knox College to defeat Illinois College on Tuesday, and the Vikings would claim the final spot in the tournament field.
    Brad Sendell scored a game-high 28 points for the Vikings and picked up five assists, four steals and three rebounds. Adnan Sarancic had a monster game with a double-double of a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds for Lawrence. Elliot Jung added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Vikings, and Matthew Kaznikov chipped in with eight points.
    Jonathan Oradiegwu led Monmouth (3-12, 2-14) with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.
    Lawrence got the Scots down multiple times, but Monmouth battled back to keep the Vikings in sight until the final minutes.
    The Vikings jumped out to a 15-4 lead to start the game as Sendell buried a 3-pointer with 15:13 left in the opening half. Monmouth trimmed the lead back to 27-26, but the Vikings finished the first half on a 22-10 run.
    Sarancic scored 10 points in that stretch and Sendell added seven as the Vikings took a 49-36 lead at the break. Sarancic scored 19 points in the opening half on 9-for-11 shooting from the floor.
    Monmouth cut the lead to four at 58-54 before the Vikings surged again. Kyle Lillwitz drained a 3-pointer to start an 11-2 outburst. After a pair of Sendell free throws, Brandon Danowski and Sarancic hit back-to-back layups for a 69-56 lead with 9:50 remaining.
    The Scots sliced into the lead again and pulled to down 71-68 with 5:03 left. After four Lawrence free throws, Jung got a steal and dunk to give the Vikings a 77-68 with 3:01 left. 
    Monmouth got a pair of baskets to cut the lead back to 77-72, but Sarancic countered with a pair of free throws for the Vikings. Lawrence's defense then forced a Monmouth miss and turnover to seal the victory.