Kemp Scores Team-High 22 in Maryville Debut
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Reed Kemp scored 22 points in his Maryville debut but the Scots fell to Rowan 94-90 on Day 1 of the Chuck Resler Tournament hosted by Rochester.
The junior transfer from Missouri Western led MC in scoring in the season opener. He hit four threes and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. The Franklin, Tennessee, native also led the way on defense with a team-high three steals.
Chase Morgan was right behind Kemp in the box score, recording 16 points and nine rebounds. Morgan was just 2-of-8 from the field but sank 12 of his 14 free throw attempts to bolster his final tally.
Free throw shooting was a strong point in the game for Maryville. Last season the Scots shot 68 percent from the line as a squad. Today, led by Morgan, MC went 31-of-36 from the stripe, good for 86.1 percent. That mark would have been the single-game high for the Scots last season (min. 10 attempts).
A back-and-forth contest from the start, there were five ties and four lead changes in the contest. With 11:15 remaining in the first half, Maryville found itself down 29-19 before a quick 10-0 run would even it up at 29.
It seemed like every time Maryville would catch up, the Profs would go on another run, scoring in bunches and retaking the lead. Going into the second half the Scots were down 45-40.
It was more of the same in the final 20 minutes. Maryville would bring the game within three at 54-51 with 16:20 remaining before Rowan went on a 15-6 run, taking its biggest lead of the night at 69-57.
The Scots never backed down though, and with 5:08 remaining they battled back and tied the game at 79.
"There were a lot more bright spots today than, honestly, I anticipated, just because this group is so new," head coach Raul Placeres said. "It was a step in the right direction with the way we played in the second half. We rallied from 12 down to tie it and had chances in the last five minutes. They just made a few more plays than we did."
"They are so tough to guard because of how they muddy up the game. But they are so gifted offensively, and in crucial moments, we gave up some offensive rebounds and gave them some second chances and that was the difference. We turned it over a little bit more than they did."
MC fought hard, outscoring the Profs 50-49 in the second half, but the damage was already done and the Scots fell 94-90 as time expired. Rowan dominated inside all night, outscoring Maryville 48-18 in the paint. The Profs also held the advantage in second-chance points 21-13.
Jose Rodriguez led the team in rebounding, picking up six defensive and four offensive rebounds for a total of 10 in the game. The sophomore from Puerto Rico finished with nine points, just one away from his fourth career double-double.
Simon Wilbar anchored the Scots defense in his Maryville debut, picking up a team-high four blocks to go along with 13 points and six rebounds.
"We failed today, but there are a lot of positives," Placeres said. "You don't have a winning season after one game, and you don't have a losing season after one game. Saturday is a chance for us to get a win and go home feeling good about ourselves."
Maryville plays one more game in Rochester, facing off against either Wooster or the host Yellowjackets. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.