Scottie Boys Tight Games

The Glasgow Scottie boys basketball team faced off against the Poplar Indians and the Harlem Wildcats for the second time this season. Glasgow again won their game against Poplar, 59-56 this time, and lost to Harlem, 62-52. Both games posted much closer final scores than those of their first meeting, when Glasgow lost to Harlem by 20 then defeated Poplar by a 20-point margin.

Poplar took a 14-10 lead in the first quarter of the game in the GHS gymnasium Feb. 11 but Glasgow pumped in 17 points in the second quarter to bring the game to a 27-27 tie at the half. Keigan Skolrud led Glasgow in scoring in the first quarter, putting up five points.

In the second quarter, Poplar's defense collapsed on Skolrud. The Indians held the Scottie post to two points in the quarter, but Skolrud fed the ball back to open teammates, who picked up the scoring outside the key. Coach Paul Yoakam said his team had been working on moving the ball offensively and "reversing the ball quickly to draw the double team out..." The Scotties saw scoring from Trevor Klind, Vinny Chappell, Bergen Miller and Hunter Collinsworth to counter the Indians' defensive plan.

After halftime, Glasgow came out strong. The home team outscored Poplar 15-10 in the third quarter, playing solidly at both ends of the court. The Indians never backed down, pressing the Scotties in a nail biter of a fourth quarter. With only 5.2 seconds remaining, Joe Bear hit a three for Poplar to bring them within a single point. They immediately fouled Klind on Glasgow's inbound pass to send him to the line for bonus free throws. The Scottie drained both his shots for the three-point Glasgow win. Skolrud pumped in 18 points to lead all Scotties in scoring. Collinsworth hit five field goals and two free throws to add 12 points and Bergen Miller hit a three-pointer each quarter to add another 12. Klind hit a trey, two jumpers and two free throws for nine points, Chappell had six points, including two free throws and Sand added a jumper for two. Sand led Glasgow in fouls with four, followed by Klind with three and Collinsworth with two. Chappell, Miller and Skolrud had one each.

Yoakam said, "We got back to better playing as a team." Strong offensive play and keeping turnovers down were keys to the home victory. Skolrud commented, "I think we've shown the most improvement on moving the ball around and getting good shots out of the offense."

In Harlem on Friday, the Scotties came out fired up and put up 24 points in the first eight minutes of play, led by Miller who put two three-pointers and two-point field goals. The home team outscored the Scotties by a margin of 12 to 7 in the second quarter, giving Glasgow a three-point lead at the half.

The Wildcats took control of the game with a 20-point third quarter performance. At the same time, Harlem's defense held the Scotties to six points. Glasgow put up 15 points in the fourth quarter to Harlem's 14, but it was not enough to overcome the gap created in the third.

Miller added six points in the fourth quarter, including two free throws, to lead the Scotties in points with 16. Skolrud scored 13 and Klind had 10 points. Chappell and Collinsworth added four each and Sand and Riley Smith scored two a piece. The Scotties were called for only two fouls in the first half but added nine to their tally in the second. Sand, Klind and Skolrud were called for three fouls each. Miller and Collinsworth each had two fouls and Chappell had one.

The Scotties close out their regular season this week with tournament play starting Thursday, Feb. 25 and the team is gearing up for the post season. Building off lessons learned during the regular season and noting the team has improved each week, Klind told the Courier, "If we can cut down on the turnovers and step up our defense we should have a good district tournament and make it to the divisional tournament."

On Tuesday, Feb. 16, Glasgow hosted the Glendive Red Devils. Friday, Feb. 19, the Scotties travel to take on the Wolves of Wolf Point. The C squad will play at noon with the JV game beginning at 3 p.m. Varsity is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, Glasgow hosts the Sidney Eagles. C squad action again begins at noon, followed by the JV game at 3 p.m. The boys varsity game will begin at 6 p.m. Senior recognition for basketball, cheer and pep band is scheduled to take place following the boys' varsity game, at 7:30 p.m.