Scots Rally Past Wisconsin-Eau Claire 68-64, Take Third Place at Marietta Tourney
MARIETTA, Ohio – Maryville rebounded from a forgettable Friday to have a super Saturday at the Marietta Shrine Tournament.
The Scots used a 13-4 closing run over the final 3:45 to race past Wisconsin-Eau Claire 68-64 Saturday and take third place honors at the challenging early season classic. The win came one day after Maryville opened the tournament with a tough loss to Mary Washington.
"It's our first win against a WIAC team, one of the premier conferences in the country," Maryville head coach Raul Placeres said. "To bounce back in less than 24 hours and put on a defensive performance like we did was impressive. Our energy level, our commitment to defense and unselfish play needed to get back to where we expect it, and we did."
The Scots spread the love during their late-game comeback.
Trailing 60-55, Chase Morgan converted a layup with 3:42 remaining to start the rally, and he followed by making one of two free throws at the 2:20 mark to narrow the gap once again to 62-58.
8-0 Run Flips It
Maryville then scored eight straight points as Jackson Garner swished a 3-pointer and then Reed Kemp pulled up for a jumper just outside the paint to put the Scots in front 63-62 with 1:01 on the clock.
After a defensive stop, Kemp drove the baseline and found first-year guard Kyle Cloninger in the corner for a huge 3-pointer to push the Maryville lead to 66-62 with just 17 seconds remaining. The Blugolds scored on their ensuing possession, but Kemp was fouled with six seconds remaining and sank both free throws for the final margin.
"There was no better assist than the baseline drive by Reed to hit Kyle for the corner three," Placeres said. "We're still not shooting it great from the field, but we did show a glimpse of shooting it better from three. We've just got to continue to work."
Maryville posted seasons highs with nine made 3-pointers and a 34.6 percent success rate from downtown. The Scots through four games are averaging 6.3 threes and shooting at a 24.5 percent clip from long range.
Patience Is a Virtue
"There is still a lot of youth on this team, and I have to develop more patience as we go through this process together," Placeres said. "Everybody who played today contributed to the win.
"We battled; and that's all I can ask. We took care of the basketball and hit free throws."
Maryville finished 9-of-12 at the line and committed a season-low five turnovers.
Kemp led the Scots with 23 points, followed by 22 from Garner and 14 and eight rebounds from Morgan, who earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Cloninger scored five points and handed out four assists.
Maryville is now 2-2, while Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which lost a heartbreaker to Marietta on Friday night, dropped to 1-3. Later Saturday night, Marietta defeated Mary Washington 87-82 to win its home tournament.
The Scots return home and host Berry on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Marietta Shrine Tournament
All-Tournament Team
Carter Huschka, Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Chase Morgan, MARYVILLE
Zach Blue, Mary Washington
Kye Robinson, Mary Washington
Frank Waganfeald, Marietta
Jayden Bradshaw, Marietta (MVP)