Men’s basketball ends their 2015-2016 season

In their fourth season in the USA South Conference, the Scots basketball team’s season came to an end with a close pair of losses to end their conference championship run.

The men fought to the buzzer in their final games of the season but came up short in a 79-71 loss against Piedmont and a crushingly close 74-69 fall to Covenant College.

The Scots’ senior night was held on Feb. 17 against Piedmont. MC began the game with a 40-39 advantage in the first half. Piedmont fought back with 24 rebounds.

The squads then battled it out in a neck-and-neck matchup, bringing the score to a 71-71 tie with 5:00 minutes left. But Piedmont took command in the final minutes, edging the Scots 40-31 in the second half to win the game.

The Maryville men were led by Spencer Shoffner with 15 points and Tyler Spicer with 12. Jay Bowyer also represented the Scots well with eight assists.

During the game against Covenant, MC out-rebounded Covenant 23-15 and was led by Tyler Spicer to the half. Covenant, however, still had the advantage with a 35-32 lead over the Scots.

During the second half, Covenant held out, topping the Scots 39-37 and ending the game on top.

The Scots were again led by Shoffner with 15 points and benefitted from Dante Hoppa’s 13 second-half points. Spicer added eight while pulling 13 rebounds off the board. Jay Bowyer led the team in assists with six.

With an overall winning season (14-11, 5-9 USA South), MC sees off Shoffner and fellow seniors Jaumonee Byrd and Logan Brewer.

Byrd, who was injured all season, leaves behind a career total 1,134 points and is the twenty-first all-time leading scorer for the Scots. Shoffner posted 1,297 points in his four years as a Scot, good for sixteenth overall. Brewer also finishes with an impressive 415 total career points and 220 rebounds.