Scotty boys notch first two wins at Luzenac Classic

The Glasgow boys' basketball team won its first two games of the season this weekend in Three Forks, beating Big Timber and Red Lodge at the Luzenac Classic.

The Scotties started the weekend with a bang, getting off to a fast start against Big Timber on Friday, outscoring the Sheepherders 13-4 in the first quarter. Finally getting into a flow, the Scotties led at halftime 21-7.

“The offense will come,” head coach Norm Braaten said. “Realistically our five starters all ought to be in double figures. They all can score but it has to be within the team concept.”

As it was, senior Jon Page took the brunt of the scoring for the weekend. Page, a wing player for the Scotties, scored 15 points to lead Glasgow on Friday against Big Timber.

The team scoring outburst was limited in the second half of the game. After erupting for 21 points in the first half, the Scotties were only able to muster 13 in the second, but were still able to stave off the Sheepherders, winning the game 34-20.

On Saturday, the scoring was much more consistent throughout the game, and it showed against Red Lodge.

The Scotties struggled with the Redskins in the first quarter and trailed 14-11 after the opening frame.

But a switch to the 2-2-1 trap defense threw Red Lodge off its game and got Glasgow into a groove. In the next two quarters the Scotties outscored Red Lodge 31-8, and created a comfortable lead for itself heading into the fourth.

The Redskins came back though, cutting the lead to six with only two minutes remaining, but after taking a timeout Glasgow was able to catch the momentum and coast to an easy victory, winning 53-37.

“We just quit running our offense and started taking some bad shots,” Braaten said. “We've got a long ways to go but we've come a long way.”

Page again had a big game, scoring 18 points in the win. Braaten attributes the outburst to his players getting confidence in their scoring ability.

“Jon shot the ball well and he's only going to get better as he gets more confidence,” Braaten said. “A lot of these guys last year were fourth and fifth (scoring) options on our team. Now they have to step up. If we can ever get them all going in the same direction at the same town we'll be fine.”

This weekend the team will play Harlem in its first conference game of the season. The Wildcats are 2-2 on the season and will have a quick, athletic team playing in front of a home crowd. On Saturday the Scotties will host their first home game of the season against Sidney, a Class A school who has a ton of size.

“This weekend's going to be a heck of a test for us,” Braaten said. “Harlem's loaded with quick smart guards and Sidney … Sidney's huge. They've got big football players and a couple of really quality guards. So it will be a good test for us.”

This weekend's games will be the last before the Scotties take a week off for the holiday break.