Scots Clinch Tie for CCS Regular Season Crown, Defeat Huntingdon 101-90

MARYVILLE – It's always nice to win on Senior Day.
 
Huntingdon gave Maryville all it could handle before the Scots pulled away late and claimed a 101-90 Collegiate Conference of the South victory here Saturday. The win assured Maryville at least a share of the CCS regular season title.
 
MC can clinch that No. 1 seed – which includes hosting duties for the tournament semifinals and championship game – with a victory Tuesday at Berea.
 
Saturday's W also pushed the team's winning streak to a season-high nine games, which is one shy of the 10 straight victories Maryville used to close out last season. The home winning streak reached an even dozen and is the longest of the Raul Placeres head coaching era.
 
Not since the Scots won 21 in a row over the 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns has there been one longer.
 
"Today was about timely stops and timely made shots, and we found a way to win," said Placeres, who improved to 41-8 against league foes over the past four seasons. "Everybody who played contributed to the game and to the win."
 
In addition to the in-game action, Maryville also celebrated Senior Day and recognized seniors Daryl Rice and Chase Ridenour before the contest.


 
Contested First 20 Minutes
This one was tight throughout, with 11 ties and five lead changes. Huntingdon built a 27-19 lead midway in the first half before Maryville rallied in front 38-34 – only to watch the Hawks close on a 14-8 run and take a 48-46 advantage to the locker room.
 
It was the first time Maryville had trailed at halftime since being down 46-43 at LaGrange on Jan. 13.
 
"We were not very good defensively in that first half," Placeres said. "We challenged our guys in the locker room and then played better in the second half. Our six turnovers were a season-low and we had 17 offensive rebounds, which tied our season-high.
 
"And credit to Huntingdon. They shot exceptionally well from 3-point (10-of-22) and from the free throw line (22-of-26)."
 
Huntingdon to start the second half quickly went in front 52-46, but that was the high-water mark for the Hawks in Period 2. Maryville reclaimed the lead for keeps on Rice's layup that made it 64-62 with 14:06 remaining, and the Scots slowly built on their advantage.
 
Reed Kemp sank a pair of free throws with 11:59 showing for a 71-65 cushion, and then Kemp a minute later scored on a driving layup for a 75-67 Maryville lead. The margin reached 91-81 when R.J. Simmons sank two free throws with 4:33 remaining, and Rice swished a turnaround jumper for a 95-83 advantage with 3:10 to play.
 
Maryville tipped over the 100-point plateau for the third time this season when Chase Morgan dropped in a soft dunk with 17 seconds to play. First-year Scot Wes Walker made his collegiate debut in the closing seconds, and Maryville improved to 17-5 overall and 9-1 in the CCS.


 
Kemp Keeps Scoring
Kemp sizzled again with 30 points, finishing 3-of-5 from 3-point range. In the three games this week, the Franklin junior averaged 26 points on 56.5-percent shooting. He was 10-of-23 from 3-point distance and 16-of-19 from the free throw line.
 
"He's a brilliant scorer and a fantastic teammate, but the last two nights he had 12 rebounds – five today and seven on Friday," Placeres said. "That's what I'm really proud of because that's another element to his game.
 
"And how about my senior point guard! Not only 18 points, four assists and two steals but also those two moves he showed us in the first half."
 
Rice was spectacular on his Senior Day, making 8-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-2 at the line. He dazzled the crowd with his moves, shots and hustle all game long.
 
"We started off not closing out on shooters and not following our scouting report," Rice said. "But we came out with a different intensity in the second half. I told the guys we needed something different. Stick with the plan but play harder and we were going to win the game.
 
"It's definitely different being the only senior on the floor. It was a significant role coming into the season, trying to take on that leadership position. I just kept working on it and sticking with it, and now every bit of adversity that comes our way, I'm there to speak up and let guys know that Coach Chase and I have been in this position before. Stay solid and we are going to get through it."
 
Simmons posted his second straight double-double with 16 and 14, while Morgan scored 16.
 
Maryville leads second-place Belhaven (7-3) by two games with two games remaining. The Scots are in action again Tuesday at Berea in a 7 p.m. tip. The Mountaineers are coming off two losses over the weekend and have dropped into a tie for third place with LaGrange at 5-4 in league and 10-12 overall.



Coach Placeres on Daryl Rice
"Daryl is a four-year guy who now has been a part of four regular season conference championships and two conference tournament championships. He's having a fantastic senior campaign, shooting 51 percent from the field, 37 percent from three and 77 percent from the free throw line. Most of the year, he's been among the top 10 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio and he already has exceeded his assist total from last year. But he's also our vocal leader in practice, in the timeout huddle and in the locker room. He's an extremely diligent worker who sets the bar every single day. He's also an exceptional student who is very active on campus, serving as a resident advisor in one of our dorms. What an amazing four-year experience he has had on the Maryville College campus, and I'm really proud of what a great representation he is for our program."


 
Coach Placeres on Chase Ridenour
"Chase was a Division I transfer for us from Tennessee Tech, a local product out of Knoxville Webb. He's had the injury bug for most of his career. But when he was healthy, he was a consistent starter for us, a guy who had some monstrous games and helped us win some big ones. Two road games at LaGrange and Huntingdon come to mind where he came out of the gate firing and could not miss. When he came here with Myles Rasnick, former high school teammates, it changed the way we went about recruiting because we were able to then attract better players just because those two were so highly sought-after in high school. My biggest joy with Chase has been his maturation and growth as a person. He graduated in December and has been serving as a student coach, and he is headed to a Division I graduate assistant's job. I am so proud of what a great representation he is for our program."