Scots Drop 84-74 Decision at Wabash
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. – Maryville knew it was going to take its bumps and bruises facing one of the most demanding schedules in the country. The Scots fought hard again this weekend but lost back-to-back games against two teams on the cusp of placement in the national top 25 polls.
Maryville on Saturday night dropped an 84-74 result against Wabash, the host of this year's fifth annual Great Lakes Invitational. Friday night it was a 78-69 loss to Keene State.
Wabash advanced to the 2022 NCAA Division III national semifinals on the strength of a 28-4 season. Keene State played in the national quarterfinals as recently as 2017.
"It's going to harden us as a team, this process of playing this many good opponents in a row," Maryville head coach Raul Placeres said. "But I'm excited about our direction as a team.
"We've got two challenges coming up on our home floor in Emory and Berry, and I look forward to seeing how the next portion of our schedule plays out."
Balance Everywhere Except Downtown
Saturday's stat sheet was balanced: field goals were 31-30, free throws 12-12 and rebounds 32-32. All except for 3-point shooting. The Little Giants went 10-of-23 to Maryville's 2-of-12, accounting for eight of the 10-point difference in the final score.
"They shot it a little bit better than they typically shoot it," Placeres said.
Maryville didn't make its first 3-point shot until Charlie Cochran connected with 11:16 remaining in the game. That bucket completed a 7-0 Scots run and narrowed the Wabash lead to 64-57, forcing a timeout.
One minute later, Jose Rodriguez backed his Little Giant defender down and banked home a jumper to shrink the margin to five at 64-57 as the clock ticked under 10 minutes.
The teams traded baskets until it was 70-63 with 7:25 showing, which is when Wabash put together a modest 9-4 run over the next 3½ minutes. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make it a 79-67 game with just 3:52 to play.
Maryville got as close as nine at 81-72, but that was it.
Rasnick Makes All-GLI Team
Myles Rasnick was hot from the outset, swishing his first six buckets and scoring 16 points in the opening half as Maryville trailed 45-36. Rasnick finished with a season-high 22 points and earned a place on this year's All-Great Lakes Invitational Team.
Cochran led Maryville's second-half scoring, tallying 14 of his 19 after intermission. Daryl Rice added 11 points in the game for his season high. The Scots finished at 49.2 percent from the floor for their best shooting night of the young season.
For Wabash, now 4-1, Edreese Redmond led four in double figures with a career-high 22 points.
The Scots, now 2-3, are idle until hosting South Region foes Emory on Nov. 27 and Berry on Nov. 29.