The Sc+NO --> ScO+N reaction has been investigated in a beam-gas arrangement, with characterization of ScO products by cw laser-induced fluorescence: absorption versus laser frequency over the A (2)Pi (v'=1)-X (2)Sigma (+)(v"=0) band and fluorescence over the A (2)Pi (v'=1)-X (2)Sigma (+)(v"=1) one. It leads to the direct determination of the nascent rotational state distribution in the X (2)Sigma (+)(v"=0) level of ScO. This distribution is close to a Prior statistical one, with a well-characterized weak "surprisal," indicating that a momentum constraint takes place during the reaction process. In the frame of this statistical distribution, a new accurate value for the dissociation energy of ScO is proposed: D-0(0)(ScO)=(6.92 +/-0.01) eV. Spectroscopic data are reported for the A (2)Pi (v'=1)-X (2)Sigma (+)(v=0) band, up to N=98.