Scotty boys rout Harlem, 52-24, play Glendive on Friday

Despite a loose second quarter, the Glasgow boys' basketball team ran away with a victory over Harlem, winning 52-24 on Friday.

The Scotties got on the Wildcats early, taking a 12-6 lead after the first quarter. Though a little sloppy themselves, Glasgow was able to frustrate the Wildcat offense nearly the whole game forcing them into 24 turnovers.

Harlem was able to keep up with the Scotties in the second quarter, only being outscored 12-11, but still trailed by seven at half 24-17.

Out of halftime the Scotties dominated even more, holding Harlem to just seven points in the second half. Scoring 28 points of their own took the game from within shooting distance to a runaway win, with the Scotties coming out on top 52-24.

“We just defensively played really well,” head coach Norm Braaten said. “We kept an eye on their 3-point shooters and we rebounded pretty well. We were ahead seven points at halftime and the next thing know we inched our way ahead.”

Perhaps the most astounding stat of the game was the Scotties massive rebounding advantage, besting the Wildcats 54-17 on the boards.

Jon Page led the team on a balanced scoring night, netting 15 points and five rebounds in the win. Drew Croy had one his best nights of the season, getting a big double-double with 12 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Patrick Billingsley finished just below them with eight points and Chaz Gordon and Tristan Schmitt each had four points. Dylan Hughes and Bryan Larson each had three points, Grant Legare scored two points and Derek Hopkins had one point and four rebounds on the night.

With the Scotties' game at Sidney postponed until Feb. 9, the Scotties will now prepare for a visit from Glendive on Friday.

Glasgow didn't fare to well in the first meeting with the Red Devils this season, losing 69-39 to the Class A school in December.

“Glendive will be the best team we play all year,” Braaten said. “They have a lot of seniors and (Christian) Hannesson who is one of the best in the state.”

Hannesson scored 32 points on the Scotties in Glendive and could have another big night if the Scotties don't clean up on offense. Glasgow had 23 turnovers in the game with Harlem last weekend, and the Red Devils will be applying a lot tougher pressure.

In an effort to get the Scotties in shape for the game, Braaten said he would put two guys on each of the guards all week in practice, in addition to upping conditioning to get the Scotties ready for the postseason.

“We're going to be doing a lot of conditioning this week,” Braaten said. “We have about six or seven players that are doing a lot of work for us.”

The Scotties have been sticking with a short bench to keep their best defensive players on the floor, giving them a better chance in the low-scoring grind of the conference season.

“We're just hoping everything peaks at the right time,” Braaten said.