Challenge Accepted

It was a matchup talked about all day around Glasgow.

The day had finally come and many in the community saw this as a measuring stick in seeing just how good the Glasgow boys basketball team is. Especially when the stick was that of two-time defending state champ Malta.

As the final buzzer sounded, jubilation filled the Glasgow gym as what was once assumed now became proven: Glasgow is the team to beat.

The Scotties withstood a tough challenge from Malta, but it was the Scotties that reigned victorious at the end with a 59-50 victory.

The victory, which kept Glasgow's undefeated streak intact, saw the usual suspects contribute on the offensive side and defensive side of the ball for the Scotties.

Jason Thibault was absent from the scoring column for Glasgow and that can usually prove to be a problem, but Thibault didn't need to be on this given night as it was Lane Herbert who took over the game by scoring 25 points for Glasgow.

"They're a good team," said Glasgow head coach Norm Braaten when talking about the challenge Malta provided. "It never looks good when Jason doesn't score, but luckily we had others who picked us up tonight."

Besides Herbert, only one other Scotties player was in double digits and that was Jake Page with 11. The remaining Glasgow players who scored were Chase Fossum with 9 points while Keil Krumwiede and Jake Kolstad had 7 points each for the Scotties.

Malta head coach David Costin said the difference between this matchup and previous matchups over the past two seasons between the two teams was the improved play of the offense for Glasgow.

"They move the ball very well, very quickly," said Costin. "They made our zone work hard tonight and Lane Herbert shot the lights out. It ultimately came down to us making more mistakes and Glasgow not making a whole lot."

Glasgow big man Chase Fossum said that the win in front of the home crowd to secure first place in conference was huge.

"It's a great atmosphere here," Fossum said. "Lane's play is always a big help and if we can get him the ball, it's money most of the time."

Although Herbert's constant performance on the court has Glasgow sitting right where they want to be at this point in the season, he's the first to deflect attention from himself and point it to the rest of the guys who suit up with him.

"We wanted to go out there and get that No. 1 spot in the conference and we got it," said Herbert.

Glasgow was ranked No. 1 in the state in the Class B poll released this week. That ranking is now in jeopardy as the Scotties lost Tuesday night at Glendive 61-50.

Glasgow hopes to rebound on the road this Friday at Sidney.