Pfeiffer Men's Basketball Drops 96-83 Decision to Maryville

Misenheimer, N.C.  (Feb. 9, 2020) –  The Pfeiffer University men's basketball team fell to visiting Maryville College 96-83 at Merner Gym on Sunday afternoon.

Pfeiffer led 46-43 at halftime, but the second-half proved to be a back-and-forth battle.

However, the Falcons came out firing in the opening minutes, outscoring MC 15-4.

Pfeiffer jumped to its largest lead, 67-51, on a pair of Sean Scott (Waldorf, Md.) free throws with 14:16 remaining in the game. That's where MC's offense kicked in.

Maryville freshman Kordell Kah knocked down a 3-pointer just 24 seconds later, opening up MC's rally. The Scots posted a 14-1 run with J.R. Sanders bucketing nine of the 14 points.

That burst erased Pfeiffer's early second-half run, making the score 68-65 with just under 11 minutes remaining. Kah added a pair of free throws, while a Brice Martin jumper cut the score again to three, 72-69. Sanders made it a one-point game with a pair of charity tosses, before senior Joshua Brooks would drive the lane for an MC lead, 73-72.

Sanders hit a trey and a pair of back-to-back jumpers to give the Scots an 80-73 lead – one the squad would never relinquish.

Maryville overcame the 16-point margin in part by shooting 50 percent (18-of-36) from the floor with four 3-pointers – two of those from Sanders. The junior tallied 20 of his 29 points in the second half to go with four rebounds and a trio of assists. Martin had 12 points and eight boards, while Kah added 11 points in the second half.

The Scots also poured in 13-of-13 at the free-throw line over the final 20 minutes.

All five Falcon starters scored in double-figures with Taylan Rowe (Oakboro, N.C.) leading the way with 16 points.  Rowe hit three from distance and finished 6-of-13 from the field.  Tyjarek Simmons (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) had 15 points while Scott and Jamaal David (Clinton, Md.) each finished with 14. 
Craig Sabb (Goose Creek, S.C.) rounded out the Falcon double-digit scorers with 11.

The loss drops Pfeiffer to 11-11 on the season and 6-8 in league play while Maryville improves to 6-15 and 5-9 in USA South play.