MARYVILLE, Tenn. - LaGrange opened its USA South schedule with a 91-82 victory over Maryville on Saturday. The Panthers (2-4, 1-0 USA South) kept the Scots (0-7, 0-2 USA South) winless on the season.
Coach Kendal Wallace
"We knew going to Maryville was going to be a tough game. Their record is not indicative of their talent. We handled the areas we needed to today. We wanted to hit the offensive boards hard and turn them over and wanted to guard the paint. I felt like all of our guys played hard and played their role well. We are grateful to get our first conference win and I hope this starts consistent play offensively and defensively as we play these next two conference games before Christmas."
How it Happened
Maryville led 7-2 four minutes into the game. Julian Cameron's two free throws put LC up 15-14 and the Panthers would not trail the rest of the way. Cameron's trey off an assist from Porter Law pushed the lead to 38-28 with 3:38 left in the half. Law's layup gave LC its biggest lead of the half, 45-31, and the Panthers led 48-35 at the half.
The Panthers extended their lead in the second half. Lincoln Anderson put back a missed shot to give LC its largest lead, 56-35, just two minutes into the half. Maryville came back over the next six minutes. Nicholas Clifton's 3-pointer drew the Scots within six points, 60-54, with 11:50 remaining.
LC held a 76-70 lead with four minutes left. Drew Shepherd scored seven of the Panthers' next nine points to keep the Scots at bay. LC's final six points came at the free throw line to seal the win.
By the Numbers
The Panthers stopped a seven-game losing streak at Maryville. LC's last won 85-83 in 2013.
Coach Kendal Wallace improved to 9-13 against his alma mater. Before Wallace's arrival at LC, the Panthers were 1-29 against Maryville.
Panther Standouts
Cameron had his first career double-double. He had a game-high 24 points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds. Cameron has scored 20+ points in all six games, the longest streak by a Panther during the program's NCAA Division III era.
Kyle Brown had 16 points off the bench. Shepherd finished the game with 14 points, while Anderson had 12.
Up Next
The Panthers play back-to-back USA South contests at Greensboro on Tuesday and Methodist on Wednesday.
