Boys Run Baker Off Floor, Speedy Wolves Up Next

In a matchup of size against speed, the Glasgow Scotties learned that speed has the advantage as they defeated the Baker Spartans 56-42 on Friday, Dec. 7.

The Scotties were impressive for the entire game as they forced several turnovers and ran the Spartans up and down the floor with their tempo. However, the Scotties will find out this weekend what happens when that size has some speed to it, too.

Glasgow will play their first conference game of the season on Saturday when they face the Wolves of Wolf Point. Wolf Point is considered one of the top teams in Class B by many and have not disappointed early in the season defeating Joliet, 62-56, and Red Lodge, 46-36.

"We're going to deal with size and speed. That's why Wolf Point is one of the best teams in the state," said Head Coach Norm Braaten.

The Scotties have dealt with size this year already and that was true against Baker. The Spartans had a 6-foot-5 center, a 6-foot-4 forward and a 6-foot guard. In fact, only one player on their team, a sophomore that saw little playing time, was less than six feet tall.

But the advantage Glasgow had was the Scotties' ability to run the floor and push the tempo faster than Baker could keep up with.

After trading punches in the first quarter to a 13-12 game in Glasgow's favor, the Scotties really pushed the Spartans in the second quarter and broke out to a 30-19 lead at half. Bryan Larson's hot shooting provided much of the fire power as he scored 10 of his 24 points in the second quarter on a pair of threes and four freebies.

The Scotties didn't let up in the second half and jumped out to an 18-point lead at one point in the third. That lead was never cut to single digits and the Scotties cruised to the win.

But like Braaten mentioned earlier, Wolf Point won't have as much difficulty keeping up with the Scotties' speed.

"I'm anxious to see how we match up because we've got some good competitive kids, too," said Braaten.

Wolf Point will be the Scotties' first conference game of the season and will provide a good measuring stick.

"That's the team we want to beat. Malta and Wolf Point are above us paper wise. We'll see where we match up and go from there," said Braaten.

The Wolves will be a tough matchup – the Scotties will have to execute their game plan very well.

"We're going to man up. I know they're quick but we've got to learn to defend them," said Braaten. "The thing is, they've got to defend us, too."

And one of the guys the Wolves will have to keep their eye on is Larson, the Scotties' leading scorer so far this year. Larson is averaging 18 points per game through the first two games and is shooting a very impressive 43 percent from beyond the three-point line.

If he can continue that hot shooting, the Scotties are hard to defend.

"If teams try to take [Larson's shooting] away, it's going to open something else up," said Braaten.

Against Baker, that opening was Chase Fossum, he had 12 points on 6-for-10 from the field. If Larson had a guy roll to him, he was able to find Fossum in the lane for a short jumper.

That is a connection the Scotties will have to continue going forward.

The Scotties will have one more tune up before they begin their conference schedule with the Wolves on Saturday. The Scotties were supposed to travel to Braodus on Dec. 9 but the snowstorm made the roads too hazardous to drive and the game was rescheduled for Friday, Dec. 14.

Broadus is 1-0 on the season after defeating Roundup 52-36 on Dec. 7.