MARYVILLE -- The Maryville College men's basketball team took advantage of 19 turnovers and converted those miscues into 20 points to defeat Berry College 70-62 on Wednesday evening in MC's Boydson Baird Gymnasium.
The Scots seemed to have the game in hand early with a solid defensive effort. Back-to-back baskets by Milton Stanley put Maryville up by eight and a three pointer by Christian Ford gave MC an eleven point advantage at the five minute mark in the first half. The Vikings went on a 12-6 run just before the break and went to the halftime trailing only 39-34.
Maryville answered in the early part of the second half with a strong 8-0 run. A rebound dunk by Oscar Butler, his second throw down of the evening, gave the Scots a 50-36 lead at the 15:30 mark. Another Berry run pulled the visitors to within six points at the six minute mark. A rebound and basket by Lake Graham pulled Berry to within four points with 3:16 remaining. Key steals by Butler and Lambert and the execution of free-throws by Butler and Stanley sealed MC's eight point victory.
Berry (2-18) was paced by four players scoring in double figures. Mac Whalen and Lake Graham each finished with double-doubles. Whalen posted 14 points and 11 rebounds while Graham added 13 points and 10 boards. Jonathan Abrams led all Vikings with 17 points while Nasser Almulla tossed in a dozen points.
Maryville (14-8) saw Milton Stanley post 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting while Wes Lambert, the reigning GSAC Player of the Week, added 13 points. Oscar Butler had nine points and nine rebounds and Christian Ford added nine points and five assists. Donald Rucker was strong on the glass with eight rebounds.
MC will return to action this Saturday when they host GSAC rival Piedmont College. Tip-off is slated for 4:00 p.m. and the Scots will honor their four seniors with a "Senior Day" Celebration. The MC Athletic Department will also be honoring their transportation carrier, Premier Transportation, at the halftime of the men's game on Saturday.
Source: Maryville College Athletics Department
