Max out Barnes. Burn down Barnes. Whatever you want to call it, it delivered. The Covenant Scots came out on top, 72-70, in an overtime thriller against the Maryville Scots. Covenant has played a strong season thus far, coming into their game against Maryville with a 12-7 overall record and 9-3 in the USA South Conference, leading the West division. And Max Out Barnes only built on this, pushing the Scots to 13-7 and 10-3 in conference, setting them up nicely for the tail end of the season.
Covenant started the game against Maryville off slow, heading into halftime down 8 points, and sliding to a 14 point deficit with around 10 minutes to go in the second half. Things were not looking good, until Maryville’s securing of their 14 point lead backfired on them. A thundering dunk from Maryville’s Felix Uadiale built on Maryville’s lead, but Uadiale hung on the rim a bit too long and was handed a technical foul, followed quickly by a technical for Maryville’s coach. James Mitchell ‘20 nailed the three subsequent free throws that sent Covenant on a run from which they never looked back. Zack Allen ‘21 led Covenant for the next 8 minutes, scoring 15 consecutive points and giving the Scots a 1 point lead with just over two minutes remaining. Covenant and Maryville then traded buckets before Maryville was forced to foul, with Chris Barnette ‘22 nailing two free throws with 16 seconds left to give Covenant a 62-59 lead. But it wasn’t quite enough, as Maryville’s JR Sanders, who finished the night with an impressive 27 points, nailed a clutch three-pointer with 7 seconds left to tie the game, sending into overtime.
But Covenant wasn’t quite done. While they only made one field goal, a big three-pointer from James Mitchell, Covenant remained solid at the free-throw line. Promise Igbanu ‘22 nailed five key overtime free throws for the Scots, keeping them in it. And as the horn sounded, a wild show from Maryville was not enough to overcome Covenant’s two-point lead, delivering a well-fought win to the home team Scots.
While the team worked tirelessly on the court, the crowd also worked their hardest to keep their Scots in it. Ryan Rhodes ‘21 said that, “the crowd got so rowdy that #5 [JR Sanders] missed four free throws in a row. We gave them that extra push.” Rhodes is referring to the two free throws Sanders missed to potentially give his team a three-point lead, and later on to regain the lead, all in overtime. Aaron Anand ‘21, an astute lifelong basketball fan, was keeping a close eye on the game through his hootin’ and hollerin’, saying, “You know what changed the game? They had a technical foul on a dunk then we went on a 21-5 run.” And he’s absolutely correct. But whether you were focused on your chants, the game, or how toasty Barnes gets, every Covenant basketball fan has to agree with Austin Berry’s ‘22 assessment of the whole night, saying “It was fun.”
Make sure you continue to cheer on your Scots as they finish off their season with some important conference matchups and look towards the USA South Tournament.