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By Joshua J. Darling, Sports Information Director
LAGRANGE, Ga. – A seven-minute scoreless drought at the end of regulation would be LaGrange's (14-7, 6-2 CCS) undoing as it opened the door for a 69-64 overtime decision by Maryville (12-8, 6-2 CCS) in a Collegiate Conference of the South first place battle and an NCAA Division III men's basketball game on Friday, February 3.
Senior forward Zac Hill (Senoia, Ga.) erupted for a double-double of 28 points and 11 rebounds and added a pair of steals for good measure to lead the Panthers while senior guard Bershard Edwards (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) finished with 11 points, seven boards and four assists.
Sophomore forward Kyle Smith (Titusville, Fla.) added nine points, four caroms and a pair of steals and junior guard Camerin Lyons (Peachtree City, Ga.) notched seven points, four boards, two assists and two steals. Junior guard Gabe Cofield (LaGrange, Ga.) rounded out the top performers with five points, five rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists.
LC would score nine of the first 11 points and eventually push out to a 14-6 lead by the 15:19 mark. With that margin narrowed to just five at 16-11 just over two minutes later, the Panthers opened up the offense with an 8-0 burst to extend to a 24-11 advantage with 9:59 on the clock.
A drought of 2:28 for both teams would be broken by a traditional three-point play by the Scots' Chase Morgan to get it back to a 10-point spread and it would stay between 10-12 points until the 5:59 mark. At that point a pair of Morgan layups, bookended around two free throws from Charlie Cochran cut it to 28-22 with 5:06 left in the half.
Over the next 2:54 it would be only a Lyons free throw until a triple by Jackson Garner and layup by Cochran sliced it to 29-27 by the 1:31 mark. The clubs would then trade buckets to head to the half with the Panthers up 31-29.
Still at that slim two-point margin, 33-31, just over a minute into the second half, LaGrange put it together over the next 3:56 as they mounted a 12-2 run. Powered by five different scorers, that outburst took them from up just two to 45-33 by the 14:48 mark.
Two more Cochran free throws and a Cofield jumper left it at that same margin but it wouldn't stay there long as Maryville as four different scorers of their own chipped away at the lead, taking it down to 49-43 with 11:05 to play. A mini 5-0 run then pushed it back to an 11-point spread but MC would not go away, pulling to within seven, 54-47, before finding themselves back down by that margin at 58-47 with exactly seven minutes to play.
It would be a seven minutes that they would dominate as they held LC scoreless. It started innocuously with a single free throw 19 seconds later then a Cochran jumper at 4:59, Rasnick jumper 40 seconds later and two more Cochran freebies. That cut it all the way down to 58-54 with 3:45 on the clock.
Nearly two minutes would pass before the score changed again and when it did it would be Rasnick knocking down another jumper, this one at 1:48, and then again to tie it at 58-58 with 24 seconds left. Following a timeout the Panthers would have one last chance to close it out in regulation but would see that opportunity disappear with turnover with two seconds on the clock. MC could not capitalize, sending the clubs to overtime.
The teams would trade buckets to start the extra session to remain deadlocked but that would not last as Daryl Rice delivered his second straight jumper and Jackson drilled one of his own to go up 64-60 at the 2:56 mark. Hill cut that in half with a layup just over a minute later only to see Rice answer with a free throw to push to a three-point advantage with 1:07 to play.
Edwards proceeded to keep the Panthers in it with a jumper with 34 seconds left but it would be the last points they would see. On the ensuing possession Cochran swooped to the hoop and LC missed a tying three-point attempt with three seconds left. The Scots would then salt away the five-point victory, 69-64, with a pair of Morgan free throws.
Cochran fueled the Maryville offense with a double-double of 14 points and 10 boards and Morgan ended up with 17 points, six caroms and a pair of blocks. Garner and Rasnick delivered 12 and 10 points, respectively and Rice added seven points and five caroms. Jose Rodriguez finished with five points, six boards and three steals and Kordell Kah hauled in a team-high eight rebounds.
The Panthers continue their stretch run as they host Piedmont on Tuesday, February 7. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. at historic Mariotti Gym.
NOTES
With the loss, LaGrange falls into a first place tie with Maryville … the teams have split the season series.
