The Monmouth College men’s basketball team cut down the nets after clinching the #1 seed and an outright Midwest Conference regular season title on Wednesday night. The Fighting Scots (19-5, 13-2) knocked off the Cornell Rams 81-65 for their ninth straight victory to earn hosting rights for the MWC Tournament next weekend.
Zay Brown (Peoria, Illinois) scored Monmouth’s first four points and tied the game at six with a jumper. Declan Flynn (Monmouth, Illinois) hit a long 3-pointer but the Rams scored seven straight to lead 15-9. Flynn scored in the lane but Cornell pushed the lead to 21-13. Cam Thomas (Arlington, Texas) made a free throw and completed a 3-point play for a personal 4-point run. Brown got into double figures with a bucket to kick off a big Scots run. Jordan Hill (Chicago, Illinois) returned to action and hit a 3-pointer before Thomas and Kyle Taylor (Moline, Illinois) also splashed long-distance shots. Max Maring (Port Byron, Illinois) extended the run to 13 straight with a bucket off the glass for a 30-23 lead.
The Rams stopped the run with a bucket in the paint and Flynn answered. Neither team scored over the next three minutes until Brennen McNally (Paw Paw, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer for a 35-27 lead. Brown scored on a fast break before the Rams hit a 3-pointer. Brown scored again and Hill knocked down a baseline jumper for a 41-32 lead. With the half winding down, Hill buried a 3-pointer for a 44-32 lead at the break.
Cornell scored to start the second half and Brown answered in the lane. Brown scored another bucket and added a free throw for a 17-point lead. The Rams hit two straight 3-pointers and a 3-point play to cut the Monmouth lead to 51-43. Brown ended the run with a bucket but the Rams scored four straight to get within six. Hill hit a corner 3-pointer off an inbounds pass but the Rams answered and cut the lead to one with two straight 3-pointers. Thomas cut to the basket for a layup and Taylor’s 3-point play gave the Scots a 61-55 lead.
Thomas and Brown both scored to give the Scots a 10-point lead before the Rams hit a free throw with 7:38 to play. McNally hit a 3-pointer but the Rams scored four straight. McNally put the Scots back up double digits with a 3-point play. Brown scored four straight points to give the Scots a 75-61 lead with 4:49 to play. Flynn scored on an inbounds play and after the Rams scored, Brown scored to top 30 points. Flynn got the final bucket for the 81-65 win.
Brown led the Scots with 31 points and 19 rebounds. Flynn, Hill and Thomas all scored 11 points. Taylor had six assists to go with six rebounds. Brown led the Scots with two steals white Thomas had two blocks.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Brown has 21 double-digit scoring games, including nine straight … He has nine game with at least 20 points and two with 31 … Brown has six double-doubles … The 19 rebounds were one off his season high … He passed Eric Mattherws (1997-98), Will Jones (2017-18), Dick Rodgers (1965-66) and Pete Kovacs (1954-55) to move into 17th on the single-season scoring list with 430 points … Brown moved past Jones (2017-18), Neil Alexander (1973-74) and Jordan Metcalf (2021-22) for 13th on the single-season rebounds list with 213 … Taylor has scored in double digits 13 times this season … Flynn moved into a tie with Paul Engo and Will Jones for the most games played in Monmouth history at 98 … Ganon Greenman (Alpha, Illinois) moved into fourth on the career games played list with 95 … The 19-5 mark is the best record after 24 games since the 1988-89 team was also 19-5 and no team has had a better record after 24 games in school history … The Scots last won nine straight games in the 2017-18 seasonMonmouth leads the all-time series 82-78 and snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Rams … The last Monmouth win in the series was Feb. 13, 2019 at home … Coach Skrivseth is 7-19 against the Rams, 5-7 at home … The Scots host Grinnell on Saturday afternoon with a pre-game Senior Day ceremony … The Midwest Conference Tournament will be at Glennie Gym February 28 and March 1 with the MWC Indoor Track and Field Championships also in the Huff Athletic Center those two days.
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
