Glasgow boys tip off with Red-White Scrimmage

The Glasgow boys' basketball team got its first full court workout in on Saturday, getting some kinks out in the process in the Red/White scrimmage.

The scrimmage, which is done in part to donate food and money to the Valley Community Food Bank, took offerings of $1 or a can of food at the door. At the end of the night, the community brought in six boxes worth of non-perishable food items and $156 to help the food bank as it stocks up for winter.

On the court, the Scotties were getting back in the flow of running at game speed, committing some early-season mistakes and feeling out different lineups. The teams were made up of varsity and JV players, with the red and white teams getting equal shares.

There was no real flow to the game and many of the players were still finding the range on their shots, but overall the feeling was good, head coach Norm Braaten said.

“The enthusiasm was there,” Braaten said. “We worked hard, we gave a great effort. A lot of the little things have to be taken care of but we were looking for them to play hard and we saw that.”

The scrimmage allowed the coaches the opportunity to solidify a top five and fill in who might be contributing behind the starting group. In the fourth quarter, Jon Page, Drew Croy, Patrick Billingsley, Dylan Hughes and Chaz Gordon came out representing the red team's starting group.
“We know who our top five are right now,” Braaten said. “Who's number six, seven …?”

The uncertainty could lead to depth, coaches think, because even though the second string may not be solidified, there is a wealth of viable candidates, leaving the coaches with plenty of bodies that will be ready to play come time for the conference season.

“It's a good thing,” Braaten said. “I'm looking down the road as a positive, it will give us some depth.”

This was also a chance for the Scotties to get their legs back underneath them and in basketball shape. Though most of the team participated in other sports in the fall, they are still getting used to the constant running and jumping that is involved in a full games' worth of work.

“That's why we started this last year,” Braaten said. “We try and get some conditioning in, get the jitters out, get the pregame warmup. We only have three or four kids that played any varsity last year, so everything is new to them.”

The Scotties are on the road for their first four games, playing this weekend at Scobey on Friday and at Glendive on Saturday.  Scobey finished 23-3 last season and went to the Class C semifinals before being bounced by eventual champion Twin Bridges. Glendive only went 5-18 last season, but the Red Devils are always a threat, especially at home.

“I'm looking forward to a game, so we can get an idea (of where our team is at) against different competition,” Braaten said. “It's going to be a tough schedule.”