Khalif Meares Scores 26 Points to Lead Rowan to Win over Rochester
Saturday, November 11, 2023
ROCHESTER, NY (November 10, 2023)--– Khalif Meares had a game-high 26 points, including key free throws in the final seconds, to help the Rowan men's basketball team to a 94-90 win over Maryville (TN) in the opening round of Rochester's Chuck Resler Tournament. It also marked the first win for interim head coach Eric Brennan in his Rowan debut.
The Profs will next play in the tournament's championship game against either Wooster or Rochester at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Ja'Zere Noel had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Profs while Marcellus Ross had 17 and Jamar Spivey scored 15 points. In his first game as a Prof, Meares went 7-for-8 from the foul line, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out six assists.
Meares, in his first year at Rowan, went 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final 15 seconds to seal the win, with Maryville's Jackson Garner hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer to provide the final margin after the Scots had pulled within 90-87 with 16 seconds left.
Rowan led the entire second half and by as much as 12 points, 69-57, but Maryville chipped away and cut the Profs' lead to 73-69 with under nine minutes to play. The Profs built up the lead again to 79-71 after a layup by Spivey, but the Scots scored eight straight to tie the game, 79-79, with 5:08 to play.
Noel scored one in the paint to give Rowan an 83-81 lead and then Meares hit consecutive jumpers to increase the Profs' advantage to 87-81 at 1:14. From there, Rowan went 7-of-8 from the foul line to close out the victory.
The teams played a tight first half, and although Rowan led for all but two minutes, its biggest lead was 43-37 after Ross hit a three-pointer with 2:55 to go in the half. Meares knocked down a pair of free throws with :26 left as the Profs took a 45-40 lead into intermission.
Rowan shot 44.7 percent from the field in the game, and was only 5-for-19 from three-point range, while Maryville hit 11 three pointers.