The Monmouth College men’s basketball team jumped out to a big lead and held on to win at rival Knox 92-87 on Saturday. The first-place Fighting Scots (14-5, 8-2) put four players in double figures and picked up 82 points from their starters in their fifth straight win.
Knox hit a 3-point play to start the game and Zay Brown (Peoria, Illinois) answered with seven straight points. Jordan Hill (Chicago, Illinois) splashed an open 3-pointer before Knox ended the 10-0 run with two free throws. Brown hit a 10-foot jumper and added a free throw. Cam Thomas (Arlington, Texas) had two blocked shots early and added a free throw for a 14-5 lead. Hill drilled another 3-pointer for a 10-point lead and Thomas hit a 3-pointer for a 20-7 lead. Knox had a 5-0 run before Thomas made a layup. Knox cut the lead to five before Brennen McNally (Paw Paw, Illinois) drilled a 3-pointer.
Jason Huber (Carpentersville, Illinois) scored on a putback to restore the 10-point lead and Declan Flynn (Monmouth, Illinois) hit a free throw. Knox cut the lead to six before Kyle Taylor (Moline, Illinois) made a layup and a free throw. Knox scored five in a row but Taylor answered with a 3-pointer for a 34-27 lead. Brown scored again but Knox cut the lead to three at 36-33. Flynn and Taylor both scored at the rim and Thomas made two free throws. Taylor added a free throw but Knox scored again and the Scots led 43-42 at the break.
Monmouth started the second half with a 4-0 run as Taylor made a technical free throw and Flynn hit a 3-pointer. Knox went on a 6-0 run to lead 51-49 and Thomas tied the game with a layup. Brown’s jumper made it 53-51 Monmouth and he connected on a layup after a Knox miss. Thomas drilled a 3-pointer and Brown went coast-to-coast for an 11-0 run and a 60-51 lead. Knox cut the lead to four with a run before Hill broke away for a layup for a 64-58 lead. Brown’s dunk was answered in the paint before Thomas scored at the rim.
Monmouth led 70-65 with 10 minutes to play after Thomas scored at the rim. Max Maring (Port Byron, Illinois) made two free throws and Huber answered a Knox 3-pointer with one of his own. Thomas scored again but Knox hit a 3-point play for a 77-73 Monmouth lead. Brown’s dunk put the Scots up six but Knox tied the game at 79. Monmouth missed two free throws and a layup before Knox took the lead with 4:30 to play. Hill tied the game with a layup and Thomas hit a jumper for an 83-81 lead. Brown muscled his way to the basket for a bucket and Thomas did the same for an 87-81 lead. Knox scored and Taylor split free throws with 33 seconds left for an 88-83 lead. Knox scored and Hill made two free throws with 20 seconds left. Knox scored and Hill made two more free throws for a 92-87 lead with 10.5 seconds left.
Thomas led the Scots with a career-high 25 points while Brown added 24. Hill had 14 points and Taylor scored 11 to put four in double figures. Brown grabbed a team-best eight rebounds while Taylor had four assists. Taylor also led the Scots with three steals and Thomas had two blocks.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Brown has 17 double-digit scoring games and seven with at least 20 points … Brown passed Steve Glasgow’s 1998-99 points total and now trails only Will Jones (by 6) from 2014-15 for most points by a freshman in the last 35 years … He also passed Jones’ 151 rebound total and has the most rebounds by a Monmouth freshman since at least the 1987-88 season … Taylor has 100 career steals, the eighth player in MC history to accomplish the feat since steals became an official NCAA stat in 1985 … Thomas scored a career-high 25, surpassing his high of 18 from Nov. 16 against Blackburn … He has scored at least 10 points in five straight games and 12 times total this season … Flynn moved into a tie for third on the Monmouth career list with 94 games playedHe is tied with Brant Carius and only Will Jones and Paul Engo (98) have played more games … Ganon Greenman (Alpha, Illinois) is tied for sixth place with 91 career games played … Hill has 15 double-digit scoring games and Taylor has 10 … Monmouth was just 16-of-31 at the line … The 15-5 mark is the best record after 20 games since the 1991-92 team was also 15-5 … The Scots hadn’t won more than 14 games in a season since the 20-8 campaign in 2017-18 … The 9-2 MWC start is the best since the 1991-92 team was 10-1 after 11 MWC games … The teams have met 230 times, 10th most played rivalry in D3 … Monmouth leads the series 137-93 with five straight wins … Coach Skrivseth is 19-6 against Knox, the most wins he has against any program … Skrivseth’s teams are 9-4 in Galesburg … The seniors went 3-1 in Galesburg … The Scots are home on Wednesday against Illinois College after the 5:30 p.m. women’s game.
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
