LAGRANGE, Ga. — The Maryville men's basketball team continued its strong start to conference play on Saturday afternoon, securing an 85–64 road victory over LaGrange inside Mariotti Gymnasium.
The win improves Maryville to 11–4 overall and 2–0 in Collegiate Conference of the South play, while LaGrange falls to 8–5 overall and 1–1 in the CCS. The Scots continued their dominance at Mariotti Gymnasium, earning their seventh straight victory at LaGrange and remaining unbeaten there during Head Coach Raul Placeres' tenure.
Maryville delivered one of its most complete performances of the season on both ends of the floor, pairing defensive pressure with efficient shooting. The Scots finished the afternoon shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc, while holding LaGrange to 35.0 percent shooting overall and just 17 percent from three-point range. Maryville added a plus-eight advantage on the glass and limited the Panthers to 27 points in the opening half.
"We spoke about pregame that our defense needed to travel — from Montgomery to LaGrange," Placeres said. "I was really pleased with our defensive effort, allowing 27 points in the first half. We were plus eight on the rebounding margin, so just really pleased with our overall energy and toughness for 40 minutes."
The Scots established control early, using stops on the defensive end to fuel their offense. Maryville carried a 40–27 lead into the locker room and continued to dictate the pace throughout the second half, never allowing LaGrange to mount a sustained run.
Offensively, Maryville leaned on balance and ball movement, placing four players in double figures. Chase Morgan led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Matthew Schneider added 16 points. Jackson Garner finished with 14 points, and Jamal Ware chipped in 10.
Point guard Javi Rosell orchestrated the offense throughout the afternoon, recording 13 assists.
"Javi was sensational today," Placeres said. "Thirteen assists for a point guard is fantastic."
Maryville's depth and energy were on display down the stretch, as multiple players contributed meaningful minutes.
"We just had such great energy and great team joy today," Placeres said. "We had three or four dunks in the game, and we celebrated David Stone's first dunk and Zeek Young's first two points. Everybody was really excited for him because he's a really hard worker and a great teammate."
The afternoon also marked a milestone performance for Morgan, who became the first player in program history to surpass 1,300 career points, 500 rebounds, and 100 blocks.
"To be able to say that you are one-of-one in the history of our program when it comes to those stats is quite a remarkable feat," Placeres said. "We've had some outstanding post players here, and for him to be the first one to do that is a big deal. I'm just so, so proud of him and the type of player he's become."
The victory capped a successful opening road swing in conference play, as Maryville secured back-to-back CCS wins away from home.
"It's really tough to win in our league," Placeres said. "To start conference play with two good wins on the road is a testament to our guys and how tough they are."
Maryville is headed into a bye week before they take on Asbury Tuesday, January 13th at 7:00 PM.
