Maryville Earns 55-27 Victory in Abbreviated Contest
MARYVILLE – That's 20 wins for the Maryville Scots! And in this one, they barely even broke a sweat.
Maryville registered a 55-27 victory over Warren Wilson here Saturday night in a game halted with 16:09 remaining in the second half. The cause was an electrical failure after Maryville's Chase Morgan attempted a layup and then slammed into the fuse box against the wall.
The lights went out and, after a brief delay, it was determined that there was no quick repair option. The teams agreed on the winning and losing sides, and all statistics are final. The NCAA later verified the game as a completed contest.
Massey Electric had the lights back on about 2½ hours after the game was halted, so things are all set for Cooper Athletic Center to host Collegiate Conference of the South tournament basketball this week.
"This might be the best thing that could have happened," Maryville head coach Raul Placeres said. "We got a win and now everyone is healthy leading into the tournament.
"The momentum was starting to go our way there in the second half. Our starters were very efficient and started well in both halves. That's what we wanted heading into the tournament. I'm glad everyone is safe and sound."
Morgan, Kemp Keep Scoring
Chase Morgan and Reed Kemp were the game's high scorers with 15 points apiece. Morgan was 7-of-9 from the floor while Kemp was 6-of-10, including 3-of-6 from 3-point distance. Collin Smith returned from an injury break over the last three games to score seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Morgan also was the rebounding leader with five.
"I was pleased with Collin getting his first action after being out for two weeks," Placeres said. "He had seven quick points and was active and gave us some good minutes. Keith Williams gave us some good numbers with four points and three rebounds in nine minutes."
Maryville scored the game's first 12 points and appeared headed for another 100-point output against the Owls. The Scots won 112-61 back in December against Warren Wilson, and expectations were for a similar result.
But the Owls hung tough, and Maryville went to the locker room with a 42-23 lead.
The Scots starters resumed their fine play to begin the second half, outscoring the visitors 13-4 before the electrical failure sent everyone home a little earlier than anticipated.
Scots Play LaGrange-Huntingdon Winner
Now Maryville becomes an interested observer of Tuesday night's CCS tournament quarterfinal round. The Scots host Friday's semifinals and are scheduled to play at 7 p.m. against the winner of Huntingdon at LaGrange in the 4-5 matchup. Those teams split their regular season meetings.
Belhaven is the No. 2 seed and hosts Covenant, and Piedmont is No. 3 and hosts Berea.
"Whoever we play will be a challenge," Placeres said. "They both are up-tempo teams that score in bunches and play with great pace. Hopefully, a good week of practice will get us ready for whoever our opponent is."
Maryville with tonight's result stretched its winning streak to 12 and its home winning streak to 13. The Scots won 20 games for the 22nd time in program history, improving to 20-5. Warren Wilson's first visit to Cooper in 31 years saw the Owls drop their 12th in a row and finish the season at 3-22.
REMINDER: There is an admission charge to the CCS tournament games. A tournament pass costs $15 and gets fans into both the semifinals and championship game. Single-day passes cost $10, with seniors and children ages 6-18 admitted for $5. Children under 6 and CCS students with a valid ID are free.