Smoak, Graham Lead Berry With 11 Points Apiece in Loss to Maryville

By Matthew D. Stokes
BerryVikings.com Staff Writer

Three Berry players scored in double figures, but Maryville defeated the Vikings 68-51 in a Wednesday night matchup at the Cage Center.

The teams were locked in a battle for the entire first half, with neither team leading by more than three points until Maryville's Christian Ford drilled a 3-point shot in last five seconds to send the Scots into the locker room with a 27-21 halftime advantage.

"I was really proud of how they competed," said Berry head coach Jeff Haarlow of his team's effort in the first half.

The visitors began to pull away in the second half as it raised its shooting percentage from 36.7 percent in the first half to 48.3 percent in the final 20 minutes. Maryville led by as many as 25 points in the second half.

"We need to do a much better job of rebounding the basketball," said Haarlow, whose team was outrebounded by a 45-25 margin Wednesday. "It can't be an excuse that we're a little bit smaller than everyone else."

Despite the score, Haarlow said he could still find a positive in this defeat.

"It was our best defensive effort of the year."

Lake Graham and Hunter Smoak led Berry with 11 points apiece, and Mac Whalen finished with 10 for the Vikings. Graham also paced Berry with eight rebounds.

Four Maryville players finished in double figures, led by Ford, who scored a game-high 13 points. Ben Williamson (11 points), Joey Bodewig (10 points), and Milton Stanley (10 points and 10 rebounds) also fueled the Scots' offensive attack.

The Vikings will return to the court on Dec. 10 when they travel to play LaGrange College, 7 p.m.

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