MARYVILLE, Tenn. -- Troynell Reese finished with a game-high 22 points as the Methodist men's basketball team fell to Maryville, 70-66, in the semifinals of the USA South Tournament on Friday night.
 
With the result, the Monarchs fall to 18-9, while the Scots, who are the top seed in the West, improve to 21-6 and advance to the tournament finals against Covenant tomorrow evening.
 
Reese was 10 of 17 from the floor to total 22 points. He also pulled down eight rebounds, registered two steals, a block and an assist. Jackson Whitley finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the year. Davion Ayabarreno tallied 15 points to cap a trio of starters who finished in double figures. He also grabbed six rebounds on the night.
 
The Monarchs pulled ahead 8-4 at the 15:02 mark of the first half after a layup by Reese. A trey from Emanuelle Garcia gave the Scots a 9-8 advantage with 13:34 left in the period.
 
Each team exchanged scores until MC pulled ahead by four points (20-16) on a layup by Garcia with 6:19 left in the half. A triple from Whitley followed by buckets from Reese and Ayabarreno propelled the Monarchs to a four-point lead at 24-20 with 4:42 in the period.
 
The two sides exchanged scores again until a pair of free throws and a tree from Dante Hoppa put Maryville up 29-28 with under two minutes to go. A Bryan Rouse three-pointer made the score 31-29 before the half ended tied at 31-31.
 
In the second half, MU opened on a 13-4 run, capped by a jumper by Whitley, to take a nine-point lead, 44-35, which proved to be its largest lead of the night, at the 14:33 mark.
 
The Scots responded with a 15-5 run over four and a half minutes to tie the game at 49-49.  A layup from Ayabarreno put the Monarchs back ahead 51-49 but MC went on another quick run to assume a six-point advantage, 59-53, on a jumper by Malcolm McDonald at the 6:41 mark.
 
The Monarchs tied the game on a pair of free throws by Reese with 1:13 in regulation, but a jumper by Calvin Songster gave the Scots the lead again. Colt Nokes blocked a shot that gave the Scots possession as they made four free throws in the final 20 seconds to hold on for a 70-66 victory.
 
For the Scots, Nokes led the way with 13 points and added 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocks, while Walker finished with 12 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Hoppa finished with 11 points, while Songster tallied 10 points with three assists and four rebounds
 
In addition for the Monarchs, Rae Hall recorded four points, four rebounds and seven assists.