Rasnick Scores 17 of His 21 in Second Half

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. – Maryville took a first step toward living up to its preseason billing with a 75-67 victory over rival Covenant here Tuesday night. It was the conference opener for both teams.

Maryville back in November was a unanimous pick by the league coaches to win the inaugural Collegiate Conference of the South title. Tuesday night was the perfect example of why it's not going to be an easy road.

"We took their best punch today," said MC head coach Raul Placeres, whose team moved back over .500 at 7-6 overall. "Thirteen of their 19 baskets were from three, and typically they don't shoot it quite that well. Kudos to them for playing so hard.

"Conference wins are never ugly. We're 1-0 in the league."

Myles Rasnick scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and Kordell Kah added a dozen points. Jose Rodriguez grabbed nine boards to lead all rebounders.

Maryville led 34-33 at intermission and never trailed over the game's final 29 minutes. But it wasn't easy.

Big First-Half Run

There were four ties and six lead changes in those opening 11 minutes. Covenant led 8-2 and 14-8 early before Maryville produced a 26-9 run over a 7:40 stretch. Jackson Garner capped that run with two free throws making it 34-23 with 4:50 left before half.

But Maryville went ice cold and Covenant found new life. The home side scored the final 10 points of the half and bounced into the locker room trailing just 34-33.

Charlie Cochran hit a 3-pointer to start the second half and Garner did the same to give Maryville some breathing room at 40-33. Logan Pearlman's 3-pointer with 15:34 pulled Covenant within 42-41, but the home Scots never could tie it.

Daryl Rice's steal and layup made it 63-54 with 6:27 remaining, and Rasnick knocked down a big 3-pointer to put the Scots in front 69-62 with 3:02 to play. Rasnick over that final 3:02 scored the last nine Maryville points.

45-35-70 Works Again

The Placeres Super-Secret Formula of 45-35-70 worked like magic once again for Maryville. MC shot 45.3 percent from the floor, 35 percent from three and 71.4 percent from the line for the winning recipe. The Scots also improved to 3-0 this season when holding teams under 70 points.

"It's always a tough place to play," said Placeres, who noted the Scots are now 5-4 in their last nine trips up the mountain. "We've had really good teams that have come here and lost. Last year we were having a terrific year and we know how that turned out.

"The kids were resilient the second half. We shot very well from the field, from three and made critical free throws down the stretch."

Maryville finished with a 26-9 advantage in points-off-turnovers and a 34-10 edge in points in the paint. Fast break points went 15-5 for Maryville.

"We got some big baskets in the second half by Kordell and Myles," Placeres said. "Daryl had a huge steal to make it a nine-point game. Daryl and Jaylon Green did a really good job of controlling the tempo and executing our offense. They combined for just one turnover."

Five Straight Home Games

Garner had a season-high five steals to help the Scots force 23 turnovers.

Maryville is home Friday against LaGrange and Saturday afternoon against Belhaven as CCS play ramps up. Both days feature doubleheaders with the women's team, with the women's games tipping off at 5 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday.

"Five straight at home, excited about that," Placeres said of the upcoming January schedule. "Can't wait to play in front of our home community and crowd. That home-court advantage is big for us."