Knoxville coach Craig Covington is nothing if not an optimist.

So with his team, winless in its first 11 games, down 3-0 just 1:41 into Thursday night’s game with No. 5 Mountain State at the Raleigh County Armory, the former Barber-Scotia assistant told his charges, “We’re still in this thing.”

It didn’t take long for that to change.

With the score tied 7-7, the Cougars went on a long 41-10 run to blow the doors off the hinges in what would end up a 105-68 win.

Mountain State (15-3) hit six of its first eight threes during the quick start, then started going inside with an array of highlight-reel moves around the basket.

Five players scored in double figures for the Cougars, led by former Knoxville standout Paul Wright, who had 22 against his old team.

Adron Marshall had 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting (4-of-4 from 3-point range), Ralph Legg had 13 points and nine assists, Yusef Baker had a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards and Ermin Tarcin had 11 points and nine rebounds. Additionally, two players, Aaron Owens and Tyrice Watkins, had nine points each.

The Cougars had a whopping 31 assists on its 39 baskets, Jarvis Jackson leading the way with 10.

“We shot the ball well and we shared the ball well,” MSU coach Bob Bolen said. “It was nice to get some extended playing time for some of these guys who had been working so hard in practice.”

Covington had been to the Armory several times in the past, going back to his days as the top assistant to James Stinson at Barber-Scotia.

“I knew what to expect,” Covington said of MSU. “Coach Bolen and I go way back. I go back to the days of (former Cougars point guard) Ed Suber. When you come in here, you have to be on top of your game, the way we were when I was at Barber-Scotia the year (MSU) went 36-1 and we beat them.

“I’ve got a young team. We’ve played all but one of our first 12 games on the road. It’s been tough, but this will make us better.”

Odin Palacio led Knoxville (0-12) with 15, Amos Colbert added 14 and Justin Ingersoll had 12.

Despite his big night, Wright said he didn’t have any additional motivation entering the game. All the players he played with at Knoxville are gone and the coaching staff has changed.

“It was just like any other game,” said Wright, who was 8-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-6 inside the three-point arc. “For me, my motivation is winning the game and that I’m a senior. I don’t have a lot of games left.”

Wright didn’t start after not being able to practice twice leading up to the game.

“It doesn’t matter, as long as we get the ‘W,’” Wright said.

MSU will spend some time in the Mid-South Conference, traveling to Cumberland, Ky., Saturday before returning home Tuesday to face WVU Tech.

— E-mail: demorrison@

register-herald.com



MSU 105, KNOXVILLE 68

Knoxville (0-12) 

Ali Al-Namari 1-2 0-0 3, Odin Palacio 6-18 0-0 15, Amos Colbert 5-13 3-6 14, Leon Taylor 0-4 0-0 0, Namarr Newson 2-4 0-0 5, Justin Ingersoll 4-10 0-0 12, Sanuel McCoy 0-1 0-0 0, Jarrod Devaughn 3-5 0-0 6, Mavin Deloach 2-2 0-0- 4, Demetrius Dews 3-11 0-0 9, Brandon Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Dorrien Holland 0-1 0-0 0, Oscar Logan III 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-71 3-6 68.

MSU (15-3) 

Ralph Legg 4-10 3-3 13, Tyrice Watkins 2-4 0-0 5, Jarvis Jackson 2-5 1-1 5, Adron Marshall 7-7 0-0 18, Yusef Baker 5-12 2-4 12, Emmanuel Coulibaly 0-3 0-0 2, Tony Fox 0-6 0-0 0, Aaron Owens 4-4 0-0 9, Renardo Dixon 2-4 2-2 7, Paul Wright 8-10 4-4 22, Devin Hawes 0-2 1-2 1, Petroslav Zafirov 1-5 0-0 2, Ermin Tarcin 4-8 3-4 11. Totals 39-80 16-20 105.

Halftime—MSU 57-25. 3-Point Goals—Knoxville 13-38 (Namari 1-2, Palacio 3-10, Colbert 1-5, Newson 1-2, Ingersoll 4-9, Dews 3-9, Holland 0-1), MSU 11-37 (Legg 2-6, Watkins 1-3, Jackson 0-2, Marshall 4-4, Baker 0-1, Coulibaly 0-2, Fox 0-5, Owens 1-1, Dixon 1-3, Wright 2-4, Hawes 0-1, Zafirov 0-4, Tracin 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Knoxville 35 (Palacio 10), MSU 54 (Baker 11, Tarcin 9). Assists—Knoxville 16 (Newson 5, Ingersoll 5), MSU 31 (Jackson 10, Legg 9). Total Fouls—Knoxville 15, MSU 11. A—1,806.