Box Score The Covenant College Scots used a stout second half performance and an 11-0 run to win the Battle of the Scots on Thursday night over Maryville College, 91-87.
Maryville took a 45-39 lead to the break, but the Georgian Scots tossed in a 53.8 percent effort in the second half, bucketing 21-of-39 to gain the victory.
The Orange and Garnet shot 14-of-29 in the first half, while knocking down an incredible 94.1 percent (16-of-17) at the charity stripe, as Jay Bowyer had 15 at the half.
However, Maryville's free-throw percentage would decrease in the second half, as the Scots could muster only a 67.9 percent (19-of-28) effort to slow their chances in the 91-87 loss.
The back-and-forth game saw eight ties and nine lead changes, as both teams gained a nine-point lead at one point. Covenant took advantage of 18 Maryville turnovers, tallying 27 points against the home-team Scots.
Back-to-back lay-ins by Colt Nokes gave Maryville a 55-53 lead with 14:43 to go in the second half. Will Portlock would lead the Georgian Scots on an 11-0 run. Portlock poured in six of the 11 on the run, as Covenant jumped to a 64-55 lead.
Logan Brewer would break the silence with two free throws, as Maryville would go 3:00 without a field goal. Spencer Shoffner broke the silence with a bucket to cut Covenant's lead to 64-59.
MC would claw its way back, as Bowyer would bucket a pair of charity tosses at the 7:05 mark. The scores would give Maryville a 71-70 lead, but 13 second later, Chris Boyd would put Covenant back on top.
Again, two free throws by Bowyer gave the Scots the lead at the 6:40 mark, but a trey by Garrett Daniel with 6:24 left in the half would put the Georgian Scots up for good, as they would piece a 7-0 run together.
Maryville would cut Covenant's lead to only two, 89-87, behind Tyler Spicer's free throws with 22 second left, but Covenant would convert enough charity tosses to ice the game late.
For Maryville (12-5, 3-3 USA South), it was Bowyer that led the way with 22 points on the night. The sophomore guard had seven assists, while shooting 14-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Shoffner added 19 points, bucketing Maryville's only two long balls of the night, as the Scots went 2-of-18 (11.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Shoffner also had a team-leading seven rebounds, matching Spicer and Dante Hoppa. Brewer added 13 points, while Joshua Brooks had 12. Nokes had nine points and five boards, while Hoppa added six points. Spicer had four points, while Blake Bowman added two.
Covenant (10-5, 5-1) had five players finish in double figures. Bailey Spragg had 18 points to go with six rebound and six assists, while Chris Boyd added 13 points off the bench.
Portluck had 12 points, while Berto Dryden had 11. Patjo Twagirayezu had 10 points to go with six rebounds.
Maryville will have a week off, before hosting Methodist University on Friday, Jan. 29 for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. They will host Greensboro College on Saturday, Jan. 30. Tipoff for that game is set for 6 p.m.
