Fast-Starting Scots Swamp Covenant 105-82

Photos by Abby Diggs and Carly Williamson

MARYVILLE – Maryville made a run at the school record for 3-pointers in a game here Tuesday night but came up one shy. They settled for a convincing 105-82 victory over Covenant in Collegiate Conference of the South action.
 
The Scots made 16 3-pointers, finishing one off the school mark of 17 set against Johnson way back in November 1988. That record has been tied three times: In February 1989 against Warren Wilson; February 2013 against Averett; and December 2022 against Greensboro.
 
Maryville had a great chance to set a new benchmark after making 11-of-18 from long range in the first half and taking a 58-28 lead into the locker room. But things slowed down in the second half and Maryville converted just 5-of-26 from long range to finish at 16-of-44 for the game.
 
Covenant outscored Maryville 54-47 over the final 20 minutes, but the visitors never drew closer than 22 points – and that was inside the final minute. Maryville scored its second-most points against Covenant in 42 all-time meetings, topped only by the 109-53 triumph in January 2010.
 
Maryville leads the series 33-9 against their Scots rivals, including an 18-4 home record.


 
Offense Delivers Early Punch
"We did what we had to do," Maryville head coach Raul Placeres said. "We managed their press early on, and to take a 30-point lead into the half speaks volumes for the attention to detail we had.
 
"Their style of play is different. They throw a different five at you every minute and a half or so, and it was good to see our guys come out and deliver that early punch."
 
Maryville was in front 15-2 after Kobe Franklin sank a 3-pointer with 14:43 showing on the first-half clock. The lead was 30-11 on Kyle Cloninger's 3-pointer with 9:29 remaining, and it reached 46-18 on Reed Kemp's 3-ball with 3:19 showing before half.
 
Kemp made two more treys, the final one with four seconds left, and Maryville took that 30-point cushion into the break. Kemp in the first half scored 22 of his game-high 32 points and made six of his nine 3-point attempts. He finished 8-of-19 from beyond the arc and sits at 48.1 percent for the season from 3-point distance, which ranks eighth nationally.
 
Kemp's scoring average is up to 24.0, which ranks fifth nationally. In six conference games thus far, he is averaging 26.2. In his second season with the Scots, Kemp is at 949 points in a Maryville uniform. Chase Morgan is next on the active list with 896 points, and Morgan already ranks seventh on the MC career chart with 69 blocked shots.


 
Morgan Chasing Triple-Double
Morgan was chasing down a triple-double Tuesday night. The Lenior City junior finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven assists. Morgan was 9-of-11 from the field, with one of those misses a 3-point attempt.
 
His backup, Darius Martin, contributed a career-high 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Kyle Cloninger scored 14 points and grabbed seven boards with two assists and three steals. Collin Smith finished with eight points.
 
Overall, it was the perfect bounce-back after a tough loss Saturday.
 
"So far this season, every time we have lost, we have followed it up with a win," Placeres said. "That's the mark of a good team.
 
"We were all disappointed – coaches, players – so we met Sunday and talked about going forward. I shared with them pregame that success doesn't demand words, it demands action. So we've got to follow through and continue to work hard to get better every day."
 
The Scots improved to 14-5 overall and 5-1 halfway through the conference slate. They are off until a trip next Tuesday to Piedmont. Their final two regular-season home games are Feb. 7 against Huntingdon (6 p.m.) and Feb. 8 versus LaGrange (4 p.m.). The LaGrange game is Senior Day.
 
Covenant dropped to 7-9 overall and 2-3 in the CCS.