The Monmouth College men's basketball team won their seventh straight home game and their sixth straight overall as they held off defending MWC champions Illinois College 73-68 on Feb. 5. The Fighting Scots (16-5, 10-2) are alone in first place with four games left, three in Glennie Gym.
Zay Brown (Peoria, Illinois) scored Monmouth's first bucket after IC hit three free throws. Kyle Taylor (Moline, Illinois) hit a jumper and picked up a steal and Brown put the Scots up 6-5 with a layup. IC took the lead before Declan Flynn (Monmouth, Illinois) splashed a pair of 3-pointers for a 12-7 Monmouth lead. Cam Thomas (Arlington, Texas) made two free throws for a 14-8 lead and Jordan Hill (Chicago, Illinois) answered an IC bucket with two free throws. Brennen McNally (Paw Paw, Illinois) put the Scots up 18-13 with a layup.
Jason Huber (Carpentersville, Illinois) picked up a steal and Flynn scored on a putback for a 7-point advantage. McNally scored on another layup before IC scored five in a row. Taylor ended the run with a layup and THomas scored for a 26-18 lead. Brown made it a 10-point lead with two free throws and Flynn's bucket in the lane forced an IC timeout with 1:44 left in the half. Out of the timeout the visitors scored four straight points before Thomas made two free throws. The Blueboys scored at the first-half buzzer to cut Monmouth's lead to 32-24.
Brown scored the first points of the second half and Flynn scored four straight for a 38-24 lead. Thomas put an IC defender on a poster with a crossover and 1-handed slam for a 16-point lead. IC scored four straight but Flynn and Brown answered and Brown scored again for a 46-28 lead. Thomas hit a 3-pointer and Max Maring (Port Byron, Illinois) scored in the post for a 51-31 lead. IC cut the lead to 10 with three 3-pointers and a layup. Brown made a free throw but IC scored the next five points for a 54-48 game and Thomas answered with a layup.
Taylor splashed a 3-pointer in front of the student section to put the Scots up 11 with 4:26 to play. After a pair of IC free throws, Flynn scored in the lane. Taylor made two free throws with under two minutes to play for a 63-53 lead but IC converted a 3-point play. Taylor hit two more free throws on either side of an IC turnover for a 67-56 lead. IC scored another 3-point play but Taylor hit two more free throws with 59 seconds left for a 69-59 lead. IC scored four points in a hurry as Monmouth turned the ball over in the backcourt. Taylor made a free throw and IC buried a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left for a 70-66 game. Flynn hit two free throws with 29 seconds left and IC hit a pair with 22 seconds left. Taylor made a free throw for a 73-68 lead and IC missed a 3-pointer for the final score.
Flynn led the Scots with 20 points while Taylor (17), Thomas (15) and Brown (13) were all in double figures. Brown led the way with nine rebounds while Huber had three steals. Brown and Huber both led the Scots with two assists and Flynn had three blocks.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Brown has 18 double-digit scoring games, including six straight ... Brown passed Will Jones from 2014-15 for most points by a freshman in the last 35 years ... Thomas has scored in double digits 13 times this season including six games in a row ... Flynn has scored in double figures 10 times this season including seven of the last eight games ... Taylor has 11 games with at least 10 points, including three straight ... Taylor tied his season and career highs with 10 made free throws ... He has gone 10-for-12 at the line in three games this season ... Flynn moved into third on the Monmouth career list with 95 games played ... Ganon Greenman (Alpha, Illinois) is tied for fifth place with 92 career games played ... Monmouth was 23-for-28 at the line ... The 16-5 mark is the best record after 21 games since the 1991-92 team was also 16-5 ... The Scots hadn't won more than 14 games in a season since the 20-8 campaign in 2017-18 ... The Scots have 10 conference wins for the fifth time in the last 10 seasons ... Monmouth leads the all-time series 74-29 and snapped a five-game losing streak to IC ... Monmouth is 8-7 in the last 15 meetings ... The Scots are 16-10 against IC under coach Skrivseth with a 9-4 mark at home ...
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