Box Score Scots Pick Up Solid Road Victory
ATLANTA – Maryville now has a candidate for best road win of the season after Saturday's 81-72 triumph at Oglethorpe.
The Scots led by as many as 12 points in the first half and 10 points at intermission before holding off a Stormy Petrels charge down the stretch. Maryville improved to 4-0 on the young season, while Oglethorpe dropped to 4-2.
"We talked about toughness and composure," MC head coach Raul Placeres said of his pregame scout. "At times, we fell a little short in those two areas, but we were tough and composed when we needed to be."
Placeres praised his bench once again, especially the play of Daryl Rice. The sophomore guard scored a career-high 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-2 from downtown.
"Daryl played his best college game so far," Placeres said. "He gave us a lift, he put the ball in the basket for us and really was fantastic."
Halftime Lead
Maryville trailed 17-11 early when the Scots put together an 11-0 run capped by a Rice jumper that made it 22-17 with 9:47 showing. Maryville maintained that lead and boosted it to as much as 42-30 on Nicholas Clifton's dunk 1:53 before halftime.
The Scots led 42-32 at intermission.
Oglethorpe quickly made a game of it, tying things at 46-all on two free throws from Uba Ezigbo just over four minutes into the second half. Felix Uadiale answered with a layup and a dunk as the Scots maintained their lead.
Clifton converted a three-point play with 9:25 showing for a 62-58 Maryville lead, and then Rice followed with a 3-pointer for a 7-point cushion. Chase Ridenour contributed a big 3-pointer with 5:29 left for a 70-64 margin, and JR Sanders cashed a pair of free throws that made it 76-70 with 2:26 remaining.
Oglethorpe's last big chance went by the wayside when Demetri Chambers missed all three free throws of a three-shot attempt with 1:32 to play and his team trailing 76-72. Uadiale grabbed the rebound and Sanders made 2-of-2 on the other end to ice it.
Uadiale Solid Inside
Uadiale finished with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Clifton just missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 12 boards, while Myles Rasnick scored 16.
The Stormy Petrels got 22 points from Ezigbo and 17 from Chambers, who came into the game averaging 26.0. Oglethorpe returned all five starters from last season and its top seven scorers.
"The thing I was most proud of was holding their leading scorer to just 4-of-19 shooting," Placeres said of Chambers. "Miles and Jekobe (Coleman) were on him for the most part, but it took a team effort."
Maryville stays in the city to take on Emory on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Eagles were 13th in the same D3hoops.com preseason poll that had the Scots ranked 23rd, so it should be quite an early season showdown.
Emory defeated Guilford 66-55 at home Saturday to improve to 2-2 against a tough schedule.
"There are no excuses," Placeres said. "It's why we scheduled so many away games early with a veteran team. If you're going to have a special year, you have to win on the road.
"It's going to be great having two ranked teams facing each other in the South Region."
