MARYVILLE, Tenn. – The Maryville (Tenn.) College Men's Basketball Team (2-0) picked up an 81-70 win over visiting Emory & Henry College (1-2) in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at Boydson Baird Gymnasium.
The Scots jumped out to a 15-4 lead at the 16:20 mark of the first half thanks to eight points from Spencer Shoffner. E&H cut the margin to six with five points in a row (15-9) 1:38 later and continued to carve into the deficit, getting to within four with 6:33 to go before the intermission. Maryville went back up by double digits, 37-27, with 1:51 in the half, but the Wasps finished on a 4-0 run to make the halftime margin 37-31.
For the first five-and-a-half minutes of the second half, the two teams traded baskets but a 7-0 run by Maryville put them up 51-38 with 13:19 on the clock. E&H responded by scoring 10 of the next 12 points to get within five (53-48), but a 12-3 run by the Scots gave them their largest lead of the game at 65-51 with 8:27 to go. The Wasps continued to put the pressure on, and a three-pointer by senior guard Kevin Anzenberger (Concord, N.C.) with 19 seconds remaining drew the margin to 77-70. Maryville went six-for-six from the free throw line in the final 33 seconds, however to preserve the 81-70 victory.
Maryville's Jay Bower led all players with 17 points, going 11-for-12 from the free throw line and adding eight rebounds, and nine assists to come up just shy of a triple-double. Shoffner finished the game with 18 points, nine boards and two blocks while Logan Brewer and Dante Hoppa added 14 and 11 points, respectively with Brewer chipping in seven boards and four blocks.
As a team, the Scots shot 42.7 percent (24-for-54) for the game and hit 29-of-41 (70.7%) of their free throws. MC held a 45-43 rebounding advantage and led 20-17 on second-chance points.
Emory & Henry was paced by junior guard Ryan Gravley (Austinville, Va.) with 14 points, four assists and two rebounds. Junior guard Myles Turner (Richmond, Va.) posted 12 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists while Anzenberger added nine points off the bench. Junior forward Brandon Self (Norfolk, Va.) had seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass while freshman forwards Aaron Ferguson (Princeton, W.Va.) and Alic Wynn (Asheville, N.C.) chipped in eight points each.
The Wasps managed just 30.2 percent shooting (19-for-63) on the afternoon and were 25-for-38 (65.8%) from the free throw line. E&H had 20 offensive rebounds in the game and forced the Scots into 18 turnovers, but could not make up for its cold shooting.
Emory & Henry will face the same Maryville team in just over 72 hours when the Scots make their way to Bob Johnson Court on for a rematch on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15