Brown Scores 1000th Career Point as Scots Win Opener

Thomas adds 20 points, Scots hit 12 3-pointers

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (11/14/2026) — The Monmouth College men's basketball team opened the season with an 87-80 win at Blackburn College on Friday. Zay Brown (Peoria, Illinois) scored 26 points, including his 1000th career point as the Fighting Scots (1-0) built a 23-point lead in the second half.

"We played really well on both ends of the floor and dominated the glass for stretches tonight," said head coach Todd Skirvseth. "Unfortunately we didn't take care of the ball and had too many turnovers. Hopefully we can learn a valuable lesson about the importance of ball security and carry that forward."

Down 2-0, Jase Whiteman (Andalusia, Illinois) knocked down a 3-pointer for Monmouth's first bucket of the season. Brown hit a 3-pointer on the next possession and LJ Ashby (Peoria, Illinois) made it 8-4 with his first Monmouth basket. The Beavers took the lead with a 5-0 run but Cameron Thomas (Arlington, Texas) hit a 3-pointer to put the Scots back on top. Brown scored the next four Monmouth points as the teams traded buckets. Jackson Drew (Burlington, Iowa) hit a 3-pointer for his first bucket and Kamran Banks (Springfield, Illinois) made two layups for a 22-16 lead.

After the 8:00 media timeout, Brown and Drew scored at the rim and Thomas knocked down a free throw for a 27-20 lead. A 3-pointer by Thomas put the Scots up 10 but Blackburn scored the next seven points. A dunk by Julian Samuels (Annawan, Illinois) and a 3-pointer from Whiteman made it 35-27. Brown hit a jumper and Samuels made a layup to restore the double-digit lead. On the final possession of the half, Samuels hit a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left for a 42-28 Monmouth lead.

Ashby started the second half with a basket and Thomas canned a 3-pointer for a 47-28 lead. Whiteman put the Scots up 20 with another 3-pointer and Ashby answered a bucket by Blackburn with one of his own. The hosts went on a 7-0 run before Ashby scored again and Brown's 1000th point came on a free throw for a 55-41 lead. Brown scored the next four Monmouth points before Drew hit a 3-pointer for a 17-point lead. Thomas answered a Blackburn 3-pointer with one of his own for a 65-48 lead at the 10-minute mark.

"Tonight's win was extra special as Zay eclipsed 1000 points for his career," said Skrivseth. "He and Cam played extremely well on both ends of the floor."

Thomas hit another 3-pointer and Banks added two free throws, as did Brown. Brown scored the next six points with two buckets and two free throws for a 78-56 lead. Samuels knocked down a free throw and Thomas made a layup to push the lead to 23 with 4:22 to play. Thomas scored again and Ashby scored inside as Monmouth answered Blackburn baskets. Blackburn scored seven points in a row before Brown scored for an 87-70 lead with 1:28 to play. The hosts scored the final 10 points of the game to make the final score much closer than the actual game flow.

"We had a number of guys who had good moments and we were extremely efficient on the possessions where we didn't turn the ball over," said Skrivseth.

Brown led the way with 26 points while Thomas added 20 and Ashby scored 10. Ashby led the Scots with eight rebounds while Thomas and Brown both had seven. Whiteman had six assists while Ashby and Samuels both handed out four. Samuels had two steals and a block while Thomas also had a block.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Brown is the 25th player in school history to score at least 1000 career points ... With 26 points on Friday he has 1014 points which ranks 23rd in MC history ... He has scored at least 10 points in 49 games for his career and also has 493 career rebounds ... Thomas has scored at least 10 points in 22 straight games dating back to last season ... He made five 3-pointers, one shy of a career high ... Whiteman was 3-for-5 from deep, tying his career-high for made 3's ... In addition to Ashby and Drew, Nathan Cluskey (Metamora, Illinois) also made his Monmouth debut ... The Scots made 12-of-26 (46%) from 3-point range, one make shy of their season high from last year ... Overall Monmouth shot 58.9% from the field ... The Scots out rebounded Blackburn 39-15 with 12 offensive rebounds ... The Scots are 7-2 all-time against Blackburn, 7-1 under coach Skrivseth with four straight wins ... Monmouth won 76-66 at home last year ... The Scots play their home opener on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against Westminster.