South Knoxville News

Maryville fans who forked over the bucks to watch this week's Daytona Beach Shootout definitely got their money's worth.
 
The Scots closed out a two-game visit to the Sunshine State here Thursday night with an impressive 88-59 victory over Marymount (Virginia). That made it two wins in as many nights and a return to Mount .500 at 5-5 heading into a big tournament next week in Virginia.
 
Myles Rasnick led the way with a career-high 31 points in just 27 minutes.
 
"To pull off two wins, I'm really excited," Maryville head coach Raul Placeres said. "This win put the icing on the cake for this trip. It was a very successful trip in all areas.
 
"The plan this week was to get closer as a team. We accomplished that with the activities we put together for the guys. We really appreciate our administration for the dinner they put on for both teams last night. It was fantastic." 

Big First Half the Difference
Maryville's play was just as fun to watch Thursday night from start to finish. The Scots rolled to a 51-31 halftime lead, helped massively by a 28-8 rebounding edge over those first 20 minutes. There were six lead changes early before Maryville went in front for keeps at 9-7 on a 3-pointer from Jackson Garner.
 
The score stayed in single digits until Rasnick cashed in back-to-back buckets for a 29-18 lead with 8:46 showing in the half. The margin ballooned to 47-25 after an 11-0 run. Rasnick made a jumper and then Jaylon Green drove to the basket for a layup and followed that with a fast-break 3-pointer. Kordell Kah converted a layup and then Malachi Chipp sank both ends of a two-shot visit to the stripe to cap the Maryville spurt.
 
The 20-point cushion was Maryville's largest halftime lead of the season, and the 51 points also were a first-half scoring high.
 
In the second half, Marymount pulled only as close as 58-41 with 15:43 remaining. The Scots responded to that surge with a scintillating 23-2 run that made it 81-43 with 7:12 to play. And that was that.
 
"We ended up with a 50-21 rebounding edge, which is our best of the season and included 18 offensive rebounds," Placeres said. "When you can dominate the boards the way we did today, you're going to give yourself an opportunity to win. I was really happy with the consistency. We kept our foot on the pedal and finished this trip on a terrific note." 

Rasnick on a Roll
Rasnick scored his 31 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 at the line.
 
"I always sound like a broken record but he's everything a coach would ever want in a young man," Placeres said. "He's a great leader, he represents our school and our basketball program to the best of his ability – he's phenomenal.
 
"He makes me look really good whenever I call any set plays, because he typically finishes at a very high clip. I'm really happy for him and his family. He got to do it tonight in front of his beautiful grandma."
 
Behind Rasnick were Kah with 11 points and Charlie Cochran with 10 points and a game-high nine boards in just 18 minutes Jose Rodriguez also played 18 minutes and grabbed eight rebounds. Marymount, now 4-8 and battling the injury bug, was led by Marcus Stubbs with 21 points.
 

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