Scottie Boys Bow Out of Northern B

LIH-AN YANG

THE COURIER

The Scottie boys ended their basketball season after two consecutive losses at the Northern B Divisional Tournament this past weekend.

They were defeated by the Choteau Bulldogs, 77-30, in Thursday's opening round. On Friday, they were overpowered by the Malta Mustangs, 68-40, in the loser-out contest.

The defending State B champion, Choteau claimed the 2016 Northern B title after a convincing 74-45 victory over Conrad on Feb. 27. The tournament was held at Malta High School.

The District 1B teams dominated the Divisional tournament, as all four 2B teams got beat in the opening round. Glasgow and Harlem exited the tournament first, with back-to-back losses. District 2B No. 1 seed Poplar followed suit after a nine-point loss to the Shelby Coyotes. The Malta Mustangs placed fourth in the tournament, after suffering defeat by Shelby twice, including in the consolation game.

On a brighter note, Scottie freshman Cade Myrick has been selected for District 2B's All-Conference Second Team. For boys basketball, Myrick marks the school record as the first freshman named to such honor.

Finishing the season with an 8-14 record, Scottie head coach Norm Braaten told the Courier his reflection on the season: "It has definitely been a good year. We started as a young team with not much varsity experience, but we have improved a lot over a long learning process and we will build on that for the future. The boys worked very hard and showed a lot of class and sportsmanship. Other than the last quarter against Malta, we've played well at the end."

Braaten added that the boys were often physically outmatched and, as a result, weren't able to be aggressive. His hope for the off-season is that the boys will continue to hone fundamental skills, and to hit the weight room. "Getting stronger will help them in every sport," said Braaten.

Choteau 77, Glasgow 30

Glasgow could not match the speed of the Bulldogs' feet and the precision of their ball movement, and the 2015 state champions had their way on the court inside and out. It didn't help that there seemed to be a lid on the bucket whenever the Scotties had opportunities with close layups.

The eventual Northern B winner set the tone in the first quarter with a 25-8 showing, and continued their dominance the rest of the game. The Bulldogs outscored the Scotties 21-7, 12-8 and 19-7 in the next three quarters.

Senior Zach Miller led the Scotties' offense with eight points, followed by Cade Myrick with six. Ethan Etchart and Bryce Legare each added 5, Trent Herbert 4, and Chase Hughes chipped in 2. As a whole, Glasgow shot 12-39 field goals, or 31 percent, and went 4-6 from the free-throw line.

For Choteau, senior Dylan Pannabecker topped the scoreboard with 26 points from the post. Darrien Garcia and Derrek Durocher each added 13, Collin Achenbach 12, Jonathan Moore 8, Sayer Patton 2, Marshall Willekes 1, and Trenton Durocher 1. The Bulldogs shot 29-54 field goals, or 54 percent, and went 10-14 from the line.

Malta 68, Glasgow 40

Glasgow came out battling hard in what would become their last game of the season. Under full-court pressure from Malta, Miller, Myrick and Tyler Hersom drove in for close buckets and Myrick added two from behind the arc-and the Scotties jumped out ahead after the first eight minutes, 12-10.

The lead would not last long, however. The Mustangs rallied behind their deficit and took over just seconds into the second quarter. As the Scotties piled on the fouls-nine compared to Malta's four-they found themselves in the familiar situation, down 30-23 at half time.

A steal and a fast break by Etchart rang in the third quarter in which the Scotties stayed competitive, only outscored by four points. Malta maintained a sizable lead at the end of the third, 47-36.

The Scotties would not score again until a minute and a half remained on the clock. Netting only four points in the fourth quarter, the Scotties' offense died out, and so did their season.

Myrick was the high pointer for the Scotties-16-and a major force on the boards. Other contributors include Etchart 8, Miller 4, Luke Breigenzer 4, Hughes 3, Hersom 2, Brett Glaser 2, and Brayden Ross 1. The team shot 16-49 field goals, or 33 percent, and was 3-6 from the free-throw line.

Tyson Carney poured in 18 points for the Mustangs. Nate Costin added 17, Devon Raybon 11, Allen Williamson 8, Jace Bishop 5, Taylor Matthews 4, Ostin Welch 2, and Cru Darrah 2. The Mustangs shot 25-46 field goals, or 54 percent, and went 13-17 from the line.

Braaten Resigns

Glasgow High School Principal Shawnda Zahara-Harris has confirmed to the Courier that Norm Braaten has submitted his resignation from the Scottie boys basketball head coach position. The resignation is necessary for Braaten to receive his teachers retirement pay from the Montana public school system, which mandates that, in order to receive pension, a retiree may not be employed in any coaching or educational services for 150 days after his/her retirement from a school.

Braaten retired from teaching history in Nashua at the end of May, 2015, then coached the Scottie boys for the 2015-2016 season.

As early as August, Braaten will be eligible to reapply for the head coach position, and has expressed his intention to do so.

According to Zahara-Harris, it's up to Glasgow School's Superintendent Bob Connors and GHS Activity Director Brenner Flaten to decide when to open up the position to hiring. "There is no specific time frame," said Zahara-Harris. Braaten's resignation will be discussed at the next school board meeting March 16. The school board will need to approve or deny the resignation.

Braaten said he understands that the position might not be available to him after his 150-day break. "It's up to them [the school board]," said Braaten.

Braaten has coached for the Scottie boys basketball program for nine seasons.