Monmouth rallies from nine down to beat rivals
MONMOUTH, ILL. (01/28/2023) The Monmouth College men’s basketball team overcame an early deficit and controlled the entire second half in an 85-78 win over Knox College. The Fighting Scots (12-8, 8-3) got another new career high from Delcan Flynn (Monmouth, Illinois) while Jordan Metcalf (Aledo, Illinois) recorded another double double.
The Scots got on the board first as Metcalf made two free throws, but Knox scored the next six and pushed the lead to 11-4. Flynn and David Williams (Loves Park, Illinois) got the next eight for Monmouth but the Prairie Fire answered to lead 20-12. Jordan Hill (Chicago, Illinois) and Ganon Greenman (Alpha, Illinois) got baskets off the bench but Knox took their largest lead of the game at 29-20 with 7:11 to play in the half. Kyle Taylor (Moline, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer and two free throws and Flynn hit another 3-pointer. Metcalf tied the game at 32 and Flynn’s 3-pointer with 3:06 to play in the half put Monmouth on top 35-34. Flynn hit another 3-pointer on the next possession and then scored in the lane for a 40-34 Scots lead. Knox scored but Flynn made it 20 points in the half with another layup as Monmouth took a 42-36 lead into halftime.
Metcalf started the second half scoring with a bucket in the lane. Knox cut the lead back to five before the Scots went on a run and pushed the lead to 10 at 50-40 on a 3-point play from Williams. The lead bounced between four and 10 over the next few minutes before Hill’s layup put the Scots on top 61-50. Taylor pushed the lead to 13 but Knox cut it back to five with 6:54 to play. Flynn hit a 3-pointer for a 69-61 lea and Yuvraj Sidhu (Coppell, Texas) scored to push the lead back to 10. Kendall Brasfield (Chicago, Illinois) gave the Scots a 79-67 lead as the clock went under 2:00. A minute later, Williams pushed the lead to 13 with a free throw and Knox hit a couple circus 3-pointers to chip away. Williams made four free throws and Metcalf split a pair in the final 40 seconds as Monmouth won 85-78.
Three days after scoring a career-high 21 points, Flynn scored 25 at Knox on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. Metcalf had 14 points and 11 rebounds while Taylor had 14 points and Williams added 13. Metcalf led the team with five assists and a block. Williams and Hill both had two steals and Brasfield added 11 rebounds to tie for the team lead.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: This is the first meeting between the teams this season and they will play again in Monmouth on Feb. 8. This was the 226th all-time meeting, tied for 10th all-time between Division III teams. Monmouth leads the series 133-93. Knox had won three in a row but Monmouth leads the last 10 meetings 6-4. Coach Skrivseth is 15-6 against Knox, tying Illinois College for the team he’s beat the most… Metcalf has scored at least 10 points in 16 games this season. He also has at least five rebounds in 19 of the 20 games. He has a double-double in five of the last six games and eight total on the season. Flynn has 46 points on the week while making eight 3-pointers. Monmouth was 21-for-30 at the line.,. The Scots return home on Tuesday for a game against first-place Illinois College. Tip off will follow the women’s 5:30 p.m. game against IC.
***Recap and photo courtesy of Monmouth College athletics***
