Box Score The Maryville College men's basketball team collected a key come from behind conference road victory to begin USA South action with a 70-65 win over Averett University in Danville, Virginia on Friday evening.
The Scots jumped out to an 18-10 early lead at the 13:37 mark behind the strong shooting of Calvin Songster and the post play of Jaumonee Byrd. Averett, ranked second in the USA South pre-season poll behind MC, rallied behind 48% shooting to take a 34-31 lead into the half.
In the first eight minutes of the second period, the Cougars pulled away to a 50-42 advantage with MC's Byrd and Jaylen Bowyer the only Scots connecting on buckets. At the 12:00 mark, a Byrd basket and a Spencer Shoffner trey pulled Maryville to within three (50-47). An Oscar Butler basket and a pair of Byrd free throws tied the game at 52-52 with 9:53 remaining.
The game went back and forth per possession, but MC's defense rose to the occasion with numerous stops. An Oscar Butler hustle rebound and lay up at the 6:41 mark gave MC a 56-55 lead. A three-pointer by Spencer Shoffner broke a 62-62 tie with two minutes remaining and a Christian Ford steal and free throws by Ford, Byrd, and Shoffner sealed the victory.
Averett (5-5, 0-1 USA South) was led by Charles Bryant and Trevor West. Each player contributed 14 points while James Contreras added 11 and Carter Jones and Bradley Robinson tallied 10 points each.
Maryville (6-6, 1-0 USA South) was paced by Jaumonee Byrd. The junior post player was 7-for-11 from the field and 8-for-14 from the charity stripe for 22 points while bringing down 7 rebounds. Oscar Butler had a game-high 8 rebounds while hitting 4-of-7 shots for 12 points. Spencer Shoffner tossed in 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Freshman Calvin Songster added 11 points after going 3-for-5 from the field.
The Scots will continue their USA South road swing tomorrow when they travel to Ferrum, Virginia to challenge the Panthers of Ferrum College. Tip-off is slated for 4:00 p.m.
