17 3-Pointers Ties Program Record in 101-73 Victory

MARYVILLE – Maryville head coach Raul Placeres knew this day was coming, and he was ready for it. More than ready!
 
Maryville put on a second-half show here Tuesday night and blitzed Greensboro 101-73 at the Cooper Athletic Center. The Scots over the final 20 minutes were 20-of-30 from the floor, including 10-of-14 from downtown. They outscored the Pride 60-39.
 
Before Tuesday night, Maryville's shooting percentage stood at 42.2 percent, including 30.4 percent from 3-point distance. The Scots were averaging six threes a game and scoring 74.1. Their season-high for 3-pointers in a game was 10 in a 90-81 win over Roanoke back on Nov. 11, which was the last Scots victory before five straight losses against some of the toughest competition in the country – and Saturday's exhibition defeat to Division I Middle Tennessee.
 
But the streak is over and there are smiles all around.
 
"Finally, the ball started going through the net," Placeres said. "Sixty points in the second half is pretty darn good, and 17 threes has to be darn close to a record (tied it!). Our second half was phenomenal, shooting over 60 percent from the field."


 
Garner Got Going
Newcomer Jackson Garner led all five Maryville starters in double figures with a season-high 25 points. Garner was 7-of-10 from downtown and helped the Scots tie a program record with the 17 threes. The Clinton guard now leads the team with 15 made 3-pointers.
 
"Great performance by our young first-year today," Placeres said of Garner. "Twenty-five points on 7-of-10 from three. How about that!
 
"I liked the fact we had all five starters in double figures, great minutes from Malachi Chipp off the bench, and just a great team win. We shared the ball well with 20 assists on 31 baskets – against a good team. They were 4-2 and had a quality win against Hampden-Sydney from the ODAC."
 
The rest of the Maryville starting lineup saw Daryl Rice score a career-high 16, Kordell Kah 15, Charlie Cochran 12 and Myles Rasnick 11 to go with six assists and three steals. Cochran grabbed a game-high 10 boards, while Kah added three blocked shots.
 
Maryville in the first half opened a 35-20 lead on a pair of Cochran free throws with 3:58 showing. But Greensboro narrowed that margin to 39-34 on Isaiah Pruett's jumper with 13 seconds remaining. Rice at the other end knocked down a pull-up jump shot, and Maryville went to the locker room leading 41-34.


 
First 100-Point Game for Placeres
The Scots maintained their lead but were not able to shake the Pride until the final six minutes. Garner's 3-pointer on the break made it 86-64 with 5:50 to play, igniting a 17-4 run that put Maryville over the century mark for the first time in the Placeres Era.
 
The last time the Scots topped 100 points was in a 110-74 home victory against Johnson on Dec. 8, 2018. The three previous occasions Maryville made 17 3-pointers were against Johnson on Nov. 29, 1988; against Warren Wilson on Feb. 20, 1989; and against Averett on Feb. 17, 2013.
 
"We needed this win to get us going again and feeling good about what we are doing against the schedule we are playing," Placeres said. "Moments like tonight make them think, 'This is why Coach did it. This is why we are playing the teams we are playing.'
 
"The game is starting to slow down for us, and we are starting to realize what our capabilities are as a team, on both ends. We played well defensively to start the second half."
 
Now 3-5, the Scots are off for final exams until playing Dec. 18 at Birmingham-Southern. After that, they head south to the Sunshine State for the Daytona Classic. Maryville takes on Concordia Wisconsin on Dec. 21 and Marymount (Va.) on Dec. 22. The Maryville women play both of those days at the same tournament as well.
 
"I'm happy going into finals week," Placeres said. "Guys need to lock down academically and then we will get back to work in about 3-4 days and get ready for Birmingham-Southern and the Daytona Beach Classic."


 
Photos by Abby Diggs and Warren Bowden.