Scottie Boys Three-game Winning Streak Snapped by Harlem

The Scottie boys split their weekend competition with a dominant win over the Nashua Porcupines at home, 71-27, and a tough loss at the Harlem Wildcats' gym, 37-36.

Ending their three-game winning streak which began on Dec. 18-over North Country, Poplar and Nashua-the Scottie boys now stand with a 3-5 overall, 1-1 conference record, and will enter an exciting week here at home with visiting Malta on Thursday and Wolf Point on Friday.

Ranked last week by the Great Falls Tribune as the No. 3 team in Class B (behind Choteau and Big Fork), Malta "doesn't change their style much," said Scottie head coach Norm Braaten. "They like to dribble drive through the lane and can always dish out to the big kids. Allen Williams is probably one of the best players in our division. This will be a great game for us to learn to move the ball effectively," said Braaten.

Like the Scotties, the Wolf Point Wolves lost many players to graduation last year. They feature new faces in the starting lineup, with a strong support from their freshmen. Braaten described the Wolves as small but much quicker. "They also like to dribble drive through traffic and make free throws. We will have to work on our defense."

Glasgow 71, Nashua 27

Nashua's lone senior, Lane Nickels, scored 22 of the team's 27 points, including a buzzer-beater three at the end of the first quarter. Junior Chase Williams scored the Porcupines' only bucket in the second quarter. Eighth grader Dylan Sanner added three.

Glasgow out-rebounded Nashua, 22 to 16. Zach Miller and Luke Breigenzer were the high rebounders for the Scotties. For Nashua, Williams grabbed six and junior Nolan Viste, four.

Turnovers stalled the Porcupines' offense. They were able to keep the first quarter tight--down only by two, 13-11, thanks to three three-pointers from Nickels who was also Nashua's only scorer in that quarter. However, passing errors and fouls blew the game apart in the second quarter that allowed the Scotties to go on a 28-2 run.

All players on the Scottie roster got floor minutes, and four boys scored double digits. Trent Herbert led the team with 14 points, Luke Breigenzer 13, Zach Miller 11, and Ethan Etchart 10. Freshman Cade Myrick added 9, Brayden Ross 6, Chase Hughes 3, Tyler Hersom 3, and Alex Fransen 2.

The Porcupines fields a young team this year which includes two eighth graders and six freshmen. They no doubt have a bright future in the basketball seasons to come.

Harlem 37, Glasgow 36

It was an evenly matched game in many ways: Size, speed, hard play, stingy defense, rebounds, and turnovers. The visiting Scotties wound up in the wrong side of the toss up with a one-point margin.

"It was a winnable game and that's why it was such as tough loss. We just didn't play well," said Braaten. "We were overly cautious and didn't get the ball up quickly enough, so our offense became stagnant," Braaten explained.

With the third quarter tied at 29-29, Scottie Bryce Legare's left-handed basket at the start of the fourth gave Glasgow a lead that would not be regained. Despite a three-pointer from Chase Hughes and a field goal from the paint by Cade Myrick, Harlem's Marcus Henry was able to answer back with two treys of his own. Michael Butterfly's bucket at 0:58 put the Wildcats on top, 37-36. A series of scrambles and fouls that ensued did not collect more points for either side.

Glasgow did miss a comeback opportunity with about five seconds left on the clock. Zach Miller stole off of Henry's layup and sprinted down for a fast break. The ball got knocked out of bounds off of his leg.

Glasgow had a two-point lead in the second quarter and closed the first half one point behind, 14-13. They out-scored Harlem in both second (5-4) and third (16-15) quarters.

Harlem out-grabbed Glasgow by just one rebound, 24-23. Harlem had 20 turnovers, Glasgow 23.

Senior Zach Miller led the Scotties with a double-double night of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Ethan Etchart added seven points, Bryce Legare 7, Chase Hughes 5, Luke Breigenzer 2, Trent Herbert 2, Cade Myrick 2, and Tyler Hersom 1.

Harlem's senior point guard Henry scored 11, followed by Butterfly 8, Keahna Little 8, Corbin Brockie 6, and Cole Azure 4.