Morgan Double-Double, Six Blocks Lead Maryville
LEXINGTON, Va. – Maryville picked up its first true road victory of the season Monday night with a 75-60 defeat of Washington & Lee.
Chase Morgan scored his first double-double of the season with game-highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Scots. The junior forward also blocked six shots for a career-high in that category. Reed Kemp scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, and Jackson Garner added a dozen.
Maryville used a 15-1 run midway in the second half to pull away from the Generals, and then the Scots closed the game on an 11-3 sprint that left no doubt.
"It was a good one," Maryville head coach Raul Placeres said. "The guys played hard, and we were good defensively. This was a tough game because we made the five-hour drive today, and playing an ODAC opponent at their place is never easy.
"Great to get our first road win of the year against an opponent that played in the ODAC tournament championship game last year. They are not having the start to a season they want, but Washington & Lee is always a very formidable opponent."
Five Straight vs. Generals
Maryville won its fifth straight game against the Generals, constituting the longest MC winning streak in the series. W&L leads the series 18-13, but in games played since 1979, the records show a 13-13 split. This was Maryville's first visit to Lexington since the teams were rival members of the ODAC back in 1987-88.
"This definitely was a win we needed, but it's also great to win these games against the ODAC for our former players who remember those rivalry days," Placeres said. "Michael Barrows, a member of our Wall of Fame, was in attendance tonight and he had a smile on his face after the game."
Maryville led 31-29 at intermission, and then the game seesawed back and forth over the first five minutes of the second half. But Kemp swished a 3-pointer with 13:47 remaining and Maryville had the lead for keeps at 43-41.
Morgan sank a free throw and then Kemp bombed another 3-ball, followed by 3-pointers from Morgan and Javi Rosell to make it 53-41 with 10:26 on the clock. Rosell, a Miami sophomore, made both of his long-distance tries, scored eight points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
Washington & Lee drew within 64-57 with still 4:45 to play when Garner sank a 3-pointer to calm the visitors' nerves. The Generals never drew closer than nine the rest of the way.
Second-Half Sharpshooting
Maryville shot 47.8 percent from 3-point range for the game, including 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) in the second half. Included in that final 20-minute barrage was a long-range bomb from Collin Smith, his only shot attempt of the night.
"This was our first double-digit rebounding win of the year," Placeres said of the 44-32 margin. "That has been our Achilles heel.
"Great game by Chase Morgan, two big threes by Javi Rosell, and Reed was terrific in the second half. Collin had a big shot when they were trying to get back in it."
Maryville improved to 5-4, while Washington & Lee is now 1-5.
The Scots are right back on the road Wednesday night at Warren Wilson (0-8) in a 7 p.m. tip.
"For all the things we met about Friday on going forward, the guys answered the bell tonight," Placers said. "We just have to buy in to the defense. Our sense of urgency will lead us going forward."