Box Score SEWANEE, Tenn. –
Fletcher Bigham tied a career-high with 23 points,
Luka Avaliani added 20 points and Sewanee erased a 10-point second-half deficit but was unable to close out the game, dropping a 79-77 decision at Maryville College in men's basketball action Wednesday night in Maryville, Tenn.
The Tigers (1-2) and Scots (1-1) were tied at 38 at halftime and tied at 47 just over three minutes into the second period, but Maryville used a 12-2 run over the next six minutes to take a commanding lead, with Sewanee committing four turnovers and making just 1-of-9 shots during the stretch.
Graham Smith's short jumper in the lane right at the 10-minute mark finally ended the drought for the Tigers and sparked a run of their own, with Bigham following with a 3-pointer before baskets by Avaliani and
Russ Marr cut the deficit to four.
Avaliani added another field goal and Bigham's old-fashioned 3-point play tied the game at 65. Sewanee took the lead on a fast break layup from Bigham, forcing a timeout by the Scots. Marr's jumper made it 69-67 Tigers with five minutes to play, but another lengthy scoring drought plagued the Tigers once again.
Maryville's Reed Kemp connected on a 3-pointer to put the Scots back in front, this time for good, and two free throws by Kemp along with field goals by Chase Morgan and Jackson Garner pushed the Scots lead to 76-71.
Bigham ended a four-minute stretch with only two points, scoring in the final minute after a Tigers timeout, and after a turnover on the other end, Bigham scored again with 19.4 seconds remaining, cutting the deficit to one at 76-75.
Kemp made two foul shots 17.9 seconds to play, but Avaliani posted a layup with 7.7 seconds on the clock for a one-point game again. Kyle Cloninger made the first but missed the second free throw with 6.8 seconds remaining and Marr rushed up the floor, taking a 3-pointer at the buzzer that fell short.
Fletcher made 9-of-12 shots overall with a pair of 3-pointers and was 3-for-3 at the foul line, adding eight rebounds and five blocks as well. Avaliani netted 20 points and tied Smith with a team-best nine boards while Marr finished with 16 points but missed all three attempts from behind the arc.
Kemp posted a game-high 26 points with five 3-pointers, Garner netted 19 points and Chase Morgan netted 16 for the Scots. Sewanee held Maryville to just 6-of-28 shooting from behind the arc but Kemp connected on five of his 10 attempts.
The Tigers jumped out to a 6-0 advantage in the first two minutes behind field goals by Marr and Bigham and two free throws from
Tre Corrigan, but the Scots answered with nine consecutive points to take the lead. A 7-0 spurt by Maryville pushed the home team's lead to 19-12 midway through the opening period, with a layup by Javi Rosell and a 3-pointer in the corner from Kemp finishing the run.
Bigham's triple ended the scoreless stretch for the Tigers and two free throws by
Reid Carrier and a layup from Avaliani pulled Sewanee within, 21-19. The Tigers scored seven straight points to take a 30-27 edge that included a field goal from Smith and two by Marr, the second one an old-fashioned 3-point play.
Maryville registered a 9-2 spurt late in the period behind a 3-pointer and two layups from Garner as well as a basket by Cloninger, but two foul shots and then a layup by Bigham in the closing seconds knotted the contest at 38 at intermission.
Bigham and Marr each scored 11 points in the half while Jackson posted 11 points and Kemp added nine for the Scots.
