Box Score While many USA South teams will begin the conference tournament next week, the Scots have been playing the elimination battle through their final four contests.
On Saturday afternoon, MC overcame their first elimination game, taking down LaGrange College in a thrilling 75-71 regular-season finale. With the win, MC earns the bid to the USA South's conference tournament, which is set to begin on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
"We are truly excited about earning the right to play in our conference tournament," Head Coach Raul Placeres said. "We will do our best to represent the college and strive for our third-consecutive conference tournament championship. Man, I love my guys, and I'm so excited about our future. The future is bright."
Maryville fought off through the final challenge that saw neither team take more than an eight-point advantage. The back-and-forth affair saw 14 lead changes and seven ties.
MC trailed 71-69 with 1:40 left, before outscoring the Panthers 6-0 over the final 100 seconds. Kevin Chong knocked down a pair of free throws to knot the game, 71-all.
Junior J.R. Sanders drove the lane, knocking down a jumper from the right side with 17 ticks remaining to make it a 73-71 MC lead.
LaGrange had one final chance to tie it, as Kordell Kah took an offensive foul with eight second remaining to give MC the ball back. Brandon Green made both free throws to clinch the final spot in the 2020 USA South Tournament.
"It was a great college basketball game," Placeres said. "Two teams that did not want the season to end. We're proud of our team and how we overcame the adversity of the game and the road. Our growth is evident, as we finished on a three-game winning streak on the road. We have a winning record in the new year."
Maryville College dominated the paint, outscoring LaGrange, 48-33. The Scots boasted an 85.7-percent effort from the charity stripe, while outrebounding the Panthers, 47-45.
MC turned 13 LaGrange turnovers into nine points in the conference victory.
Maryville (9-16, 8-10 USA South) was paced by Sanders' game-high 23 points, as he added four assists, a rebound, a steal and a block. Kah added 12 points off the bench with two steals, as Chong tallied a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Joshua Brooks had 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal, while Felix Uadiale had nine points and 10 rebounds. Brice Martin added eight points, 11 boards and four blocks in the victory, as Green had two points and four rebounds.
MC shot 26-of-76 (34.2 percent) from the floor, while knocking down five treys at a 23.8-percent rate. They went 18-of-21 at the free-throw line.
LaGrange (7-18, 6-12) outshot MC with a 37.1-percent effort (23-of-62), as they posted three 3-pointers. The Panthers went 22-of-30 (73.3 percent) from the free-throw line.
Henry Blair had 16 points and six rebounds for LaGrange, as Ronald Youngblood added 11 points and eight boards. Julian Cameron had 11 points, as Bershard Edwards had 10 points off the bench.
MC will advance to the USA South Tournament, as they travel to Lookout Mountain, Ga. for the first round. The Scots will take on top-ranked Covenant College on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
