Box Score The Maryville College Scots moved to 6-1 on the season Friday night, as MC followed five double-digit scorers to earn the 76-64 victory over Covenant College.
Nicholas Clifton led the way with a double-double effort, as he added 13 points and 10 boards in the USA South victory.
"We're extremely proud of Nick's performance," Head Coach Raul Placeres said. "His maturity and toughness is something I truly admire from him and our guys really feed off of."
Clifton shot 6-of-8 from the floor on the afternoon, while he went 1-for-1 at the free-throw line. He added three steals, two assists and a block for a complete game.
That complete game was needed, as MC held off a late Covenant rally.
After a 21-point lead with 7:01 left, 72-51, the Georgian Scots went on an 8-0 run to cut MC's lead to 12.
Myles Rasnick and Felix Uadiale made back-to-back buckets to secure the win.
Uadiale, Rasnick, Kevin Chong and Kordell Kah each scored double figures in the Scots' first game in 19 days.
Placeres said that layoff was a worry going into tonight's contest.
"I was concerned with the long layoff how we would play," the head coach said. "But we responded with the right attitude, approach and resolve. Five guys in double figures, and once again, we seemed to find the open man. We will continue to preach unselfishness."
Maryville had 16 assists on 29 baskets with Rasnick and Kah combining for nine of those dishes.
The Scots took a 34-30 lead to the locker room after shooting an impressive 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from the floor. MC added five treys at a 55.6-percent clip.
Covenant College kept pace with a 12-of-26 first-half effort for 46.2 percent. The Georgian Scots went 3-for-6 from beyond the arc, as they outrebounded Maryville, 14-12.
Maryville's second-half shooting, however, was too much for Covenant to keep pace with. MC shot an astonishing 59.3 percent (16-of-27) while going 7-of-10 (70 percent) from beyond the 3-point line to secure the win.
Maryville (6-1, 6-1 USA South) saw Uadiale match Clifton's 13-point effort, as he added four rebounds and a pair of blocks. Chong added 11 points and five boards, while Rasnick tallied 10 points, five assists, two rebounds, a steal and a block.
Kah posted 10 points, four assists, two steals and a b lock off the bench, as Jekobe Coleman narrowly missed double figures with nine points and three assists. JR Sanders had seven points and two assists, as Daryl Rice posted three points. Dalton Coleman added three rebounds for the Scots.
MC shot 29-of-54 (53.7 percent) on the night, while bucketing a dozen 3-pointers at a 63.2-percent clip.
For Covenant (7-7, 3-4 USA South), it was Promise Igbanu with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Will Crumly added 15 points.
Maryville College will take on Covenant again tomorrow, Feb. 20. Tip-off in Lookout Mountain, Ga. is slated for 2:00 p.m.
