Scots Complete Perfect CCS Road Record with 68-61 Win

DEMOREST, Ga. – The Maryville Road Show is complete.

Maryville sprinted in front and then held off a determined Piedmont squad Saturday afternoon to complete a 68-61 triumph in the regular season finale for both squads. The Scots finished a perfect 6-0 in road games against Collegiate Conference of the South foes.

A highlight from the contest saw senior guard Myles Rasnick score 14 points to eclipse 1,000 for his career. Rasnick stands at 1,013, with the last 995 of those coming in a Maryville uniform. He scored his first 18 points at East Tennessee State way back in 2018-19.

Maryville also kept its momentum going ahead of the inaugural CCS tournament, with the semifinals and championship game set for Cooper Athletic Center.

Eight Wins in a Row

The Scots are sporting an eight-game winning streak and finished three games clear of second-place Belhaven and LaGrange. That's quite a turnaround from the morning of Jan. 15, when Maryville was 2-2 and looking up at 4-1 Belhaven, 3-1 LaGrange and 2-1 Piedmont.

"All the credit goes to our players and the amount of work they have put in," Scots head coach Raul Placeres said. "After that January loss to Piedmont, I told the players we still controlled our own destiny. And we did.

"We went on the road down the stretch – five of our last six were away from home – and won in all types of games. Up and down, grind it out, overtime. These guys never gave in."

Maryville under Placeres has won 19 of its last 20 regular season conference road games, dating back to February 2020. The Scots are 28-6 in league play the last three years.

"That's pretty darn hard to do," Placeres said. "It's a tribute to the players we have and how hard they work when we are at home and on the road. It speaks to the grittiness and resiliency of this team and this program."

Mr. 1,000

After Daryl Rice opened the game with a 3-pointer, Rasnick sank a pair of free throws to ease past the 1,000-mark. He finished the game with 14 points to share team scoring honors and continued his hot shooting at the line, going 4-of-4

"I'm extremely proud of everything he has accomplished so far in his career," Placeres said. "I wish people could understand how hard it is to get to 1,000, and he did it in 2½ years. And all while guarding the other team's top scorer every night.

"What he means to our program as a player is impossible to put into words. I've been extremely fortunate to have a front-row seat to that work ethic, that drive, at every practice, every film session and every single game."

Placeres notes that Rasnick plays in the rarified air of someone who shoots 50 percent or better from the floor, 40 percent or better from 3-point distance and 90 percent or better from the line. He's got the first two and he's at 89.8 percent for his career from the stripe.

Garner from the Corner

Maryville's largest lead of the first half Saturday came on the final play of the first half, a Jackson Garner 3-pointer from the corner that swished through as the horn sounded. Maryville led 36-21.

The Scots then proceeded to miss their first nine shots of the second half and shoot just 28.1 percent (9-of-32) over the closing 20 minutes. Despite that, Maryville built a lead of 44-26 with 14 minutes remaining before Piedmont began whittling away.

The Lions narrowed the margin to 65-61 on a 3-pointer from Will Richter with 54 seconds left, but that was a close as they got.

In addition to Rasnick with 14 and eight assists, Rice also scored 14 with four steals and Charlie Cochran pitched in a double-double with 13 and 13. Garner finished with 12 points and Jose Rodriguez added 10 boards.

Charlie on Call – Again

Placeres called out Cochran for his stellar play this week after the senior forward averaged 16.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, shot 65 percent from the floor, including 5-of-9 from three, and committed just two turnovers. Saturday was his seventh double-double of the season and second of the week.

"I'm so proud of how he is finishing off conference play," Placeres said. "He has put himself in position to be an All-Conference First Team guy. And for someone who was starting most of the first half of the year, he was mature enough to understand why we were making the change mid-season and having him come off the bench. He embraced it and I couldn't be prouder of a young man."

Maryville now awaits the winner of Tuesday's quarterfinal games to see who joins the Scots at Cooper Athletic Center for Friday's semifinals. The Scots are playing in Semifinal No. 2 at 7 p.m. against the winner of Piedmont at Berea.

Ticket information will be announced early in the week.

CCS Tournament Pairings

Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Feb. 21

5 Piedmont at 4 Berea

6 Covenant at 3 LaGrange

7 Huntingdon at 2 Belhaven

Semifinals – Friday, Feb. 24

First Semifinal, 5 p.m.

1 MARYVILLE vs. Piedmont-Berea winner, 7 p.m.

Championship – Saturday, Feb. 25

3 p.m.