Blazers Go Wire-to-Wire, Knock Off Scots 91-83
Photos by Abby Diggs and Carly Williamson
MARYVILLE – All five Belhaven starters scored in double figures, and the Blazers led from start to finish in taking a 91-83 decision over Maryville here Saturday afternoon.
The loss snapped a nine-game Scots winning streak. Belhaven extended its winning streak to 10 games and won for the first time in five tries inside the Cooper Athletic Center. The Blazers also took sole possession of first place in the Collegiate Conference of the South at 5-0.
Maryville at 4-1 slips to third place behind Huntingdon at 5-1.
"These are the best two teams right now in the league," Scots head coach Raul Placeres said. "And their best was better than our best. My disappointment today is that I know we weren't even an iota close to how good we have played, but that happens in sports.
"Am I upset? No. I am disappointed because we are much better than we showed tonight. But credit goes to them. They were really good."
Blazers from the Tip
Belhaven scored off the opening tip, a pull-up jumper from DeMarus Powe just 19 seconds into the game, and the Blazers were off and running. Four times in the first half, Maryville pulled within one point of tying the game, but the Scots were turned away every occasion.
After Belhaven went into intermission leading 35-27, the teams played to a 56-56 slugfest over the final 20 minutes.
Maryville's closest approaches in the second half were 54-51 on Jamal Ware's 3-pointer with 11:20 remaining, 56-53 on Chase Morgan's layup with 10:48 left, 65-61 on Kyle Cloninger's fastbreak 3-pointer with 6:30 showing, and 67-63 after a pair of Reed Kemp free throws with 5:55 to play.
But Belhaven answered every time, and the Blazers reached the 90s in points scored for the third game out of five conference tilts thus far. Where Belhaven really succeeded was a 40-24 rebounding edge. On the Blazers glass, Belhaven's 14 offensive boards were just one fewer than Maryville's 15 defensive rebounds.
"Sports failure has a really funny way of grounding you," Placeres said. "If we are going to beat that team – they are the team right now; they are in first – we are going to have to fix the rebounding identity. You can't beat that team if you don't rebound.
"Desire and pursuit were the difference today in that area."
Marshall, Kemp Score 35 Apiece
Jordan Marshall was the scoring star for Belhaven with a season-high 35 points and a game-leading six assists. He made 3-of-8 from long distance and 8-of-9 at the line. Jacob Reese had a double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds, while Powe finished with 14 points thanks to a pair of 3-pointers.
Maryville's Kemp also reached his season-scoring high with 35, topping the 32 points he scored in the November win over Berry. Jamal Ware had 12 points off the bench and Javi Rosell scored 11 to go with five assists.
Belhaven shot 56.7 percent from the field. Only Averett at 60.9 percent in the season opener shot better against the Scots. Maryville was better than its season average at 47.6 percent from the field, and the Scots made 10-of-25 from 3-point range.
Round II on Feb. 21 in Jackson
Belhaven improves to 15-3 overall, while Maryville drops to 13-5. The Scots still lead the series against the Blazers 5-2. These teams meet again in Jackson on Feb. 21 in the game originally scheduled for Jan. 11 but postponed because of snow.
The Scots are right back at it Tuesday night at home against Covenant in a 7 p.m. tip. The Lookout Mountain squad was idle this weekend but most recently pulled off a 92-91 victory at Piedmont last Tuesday night. Covenant enters at 7-8 overall and 2-2 in the CCS.
"Tomorrow night, we will meet," Placeres said. "We will watch film, have a scouting report ready and we will practice Monday because we've got another game Tuesday against Covenant. That's how it works in sports. So you can't dwell on it."