MARYVILLE -- The Maryville College Scots claimed their 9th Great South crown on Saturday evening with a 75-73 win over LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia.

The Scots jumped out to a 12 point advantage when Milton Stanley hit a layup at the 5:10 mark of the first half. LaGrange would not go quietly in their own gymnasium, closing out the half with a 13-7 run. The Scots would claim a 37-31 advantage at the intermission. Each team could not find their perimeter touch, but MC's advantage was their 43% shooting over the Panther's 38% effort from the floor.

A layup by Jethro Griffin at the 11:26 mark in the second half helped MC to their largest lead for the remainder of the challenge. The 56-45 lead would soon be evaporated over the next seven minutes of action. A LaGrange layup pulled the No.1 seed to a point at the 4:08 mark.

Trailing by three points with 1:15 remaining, LaGrange's Marcus Vaughn hit a jumper and was fouled by MC's Maverick Willett. Vaughn's natural three-pointer tied the game at 71-71 with 1:15 left. The Scots Milton Stanley calmly buried a jumper on their next possession and LaGrange's Vaughn answered with a driving layup with 56 seconds remaining. Stanley promptly worked the clock for a strong final shot and the GSAC player of the year deposited his 20th point of the game for the game winner with 12 seconds remaining.

LaGrange (12-15) was paced by Kyron Anderson's 24 points while Marcus Vaughn added 22 points and 13 rebounds. Aaron Power tossed in 18 points to help LaGrange.

Maryville (18-9) had only two players in double figures. Milton Stanley was 6-for-14 from the field for 20 points but added seven rebounds and a team-high four assists. Maverick, named as the GSAC Tournament MVP, was 6-for-11 from the field for 14 points. Christian Ford and Oscar Butler each added nine points. Butler added seven rebounds while freshman Joey Bodewig paced MC on the boards with 11 rebounds.

Maryville will now wait to see if they can attain a Pool B at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. MC's overall and regional record is one of the best nationally of the at-large members, but only one team is selected across the NCAA Division III in this pool. If selected, Maryville will enjoy their 18th selection to the NCAA Tournament. Post-season bids will be released on Monday by the NCAA.

Source: Maryville College Athletics Department