Maryville Faces No. 3 Randolph-Macon on Friday Afternoon

ASHLAND, Va. – Maryville got the win it needed and now the Scots draw the opponent they desired.

Maryville rallied from nine points down in the second half and roared past Rowan 100-97 in Thursday's opening game of the Randolph-Macon Coaches Tournament. The Scots won their fourth in a row and in the process halted the Profs' eight-game winning streak.

"That's a really good team, coming off eight straight wins and an NCAA tournament appearance last year," Maryville head coach Raul Placeres said of Rowan (8-3). "Because we have played so many difficult games, it allowed us to know that we could compete in a game like this.

"The difference was we finished, and that's something we weren't doing earlier in the year. It was a gritty win against a tough team."

Next up? No. 3-ranked and defending national champion Randolph-Macon (10-1) in a Friday afternoon 4 o'clock tip. The host Yellow Jackets beat Lancaster Bible 82-60 in Thursday's second game.

"We get a chance to play the defending national champions, who have won 50-plus in a row on their home floor," Placeres said. "That's what I wanted to do, play the best. This is their tournament on their floor, and that's what we came up here to do."

Six in Double Figures

Charlie Cochran led Maryville with a season-high 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-8 from downtown. He and Jose Rodriguez tied for team rebounding honors with seven apiece. A season-high six scored in double figures for the Scots, who improved to 6-5.

"Charlie was clutch tonight, and we needed him to be," Placeres said. "Our freshmen were terrific, and Daryl Rice showed his maturity and toughness. He played 30 minutes against a team pressing us the whole game, and he turned the ball over only three times. He was a difference-maker."

Maryville took control of this one with a 16-0 run early in the second half.

Trailing 52-48 at intermission, Rowan scored the first five points to build its largest lead at 57-48. But Maryville answered with the next 16 in a row to completely change the narrative.

Jackson Garner got the party started with a layup and then Rice followed with a 3-pointer. Myles Rasnick knocked down a jump shot and then Cochran did the same. Rice converted a fastbreak jumper after a turnover and Rasnick connected again after a steal and assist from Rice.

The Scots were up 62-57 and Rowan needed a timeout.

Cochran Caps 16-0 Run

One more bucket from Cochran ended the run at the 15:56 mark and the Scots had scored 16 straight.

"They were gambling so much – that's just their style of play," Placeres said. "We just needed to settle down and make the right reads and we were going to get either layups or open threes, and that's what happened during that stretch."

Maryville pushed that lead to its largest point at 90-78 on a Cochran free throw with 6:22 remaining, but Rowan didn't go quietly. The Profs pulled within 92-89 on a layup from Damien Smith, only for Maryville to answer with Garner cashing in both ends of a 1-and-1 with 3:34 remaining.

Rowan again closed to within 98-95 as the seconds ticked down, but Chase Morgan leaked away for a layup to beat the press and push the Scots over the century mark. Connor Dickerson's final hoop rounded out the scoring.

"There was an eternity of time left when we took that big lead," Placeres said. "It's a hard team to play against because they get to the line so many times. They get to the line 30 times per game, and tonight they took 43 free throws.

"The biggest thing was how well we defended in the second half, holding them to 34 percent overall and 20 percent from three."

Several Season Highs

Other season bests for Maryville were 24 assists, 19 steals and forcing 26 turnovers (Rowan was averaging 14.4).

Maryville led for just 10 seconds of the first half at 3-2 on a 3-pointer from Garner.

Rowan blistered the nets for 57 percent in the first half and led 22-14 early before the Scots rallied. Rowan's shooting cooled to just 34 percent in the second half and 3-of-15 from long range, which allowed Maryville to make its move. The Scots shot over 50 percent in both halves, finishing at 52.7.

The Profs outscored Maryville 31-10 at the free throw line, but the Scots made up that difference from the floor and from long distance. Maryville finished 12-of-24 from beyond the arc for their second-best long distance shooting performance of the season (Greensboro 17-of-32).

In addition to Cochran, Garner scored 15, Rice and Morgan 14 apiece, Rasnick 13 and R.J. Simmons finished with 10. Rasnick and Rice contributed seven assists each, with Rice recording a career high.

The Scots are now 4-1 on neutral floors, the only loss coming back on Nov. 18 to still undefeated and sixth-ranked Keene State at the Great Lakes Invitational.

"It was good to have a lot of guys come through in different moments," Placeres said. "It was a well-earned victory for sure."