Poplar Upsets Malta in District 2B

It appeared that everyone who wasn’t wearing blue cheered for the Poplar Indians. Spirit soared high on the Glasgow High School hardwood Saturday night, as packed bleachers witnessed the 3-5 #3 seed Indians beat the 8-0 #1 seed Malta Mustangs in District 2B championship, 75-69, in good old-fashioned ways.

Quick-footed defense, reliable shooting, and low turnovers were how Poplar corralled the visibly uncomfortable Mustangs. Even with a height disadvantage, the Indians matched Malta on the rebounds and, playing with confident energy, took over the lead at the start of the second quarter and never looked back.

Third time was not the charm for the home team, however. The Glasgow Scottie boys, coming into the tournament as 5-3 #2 seed, dropped two games to opponents they’ve defeated before. They lost to Poplar, 60-42, in the Friday semi-final round, then to the Harlem Wildcats in the consolation game, 56-50. During the regular season, the Scotties were 2-0 over Poplar and 1-1 against Harlem.

Glasgow will advance to next weekend’s Northern B Divisionals as #4 seed.

In other actions of the tournament: Harlem eliminated Wolf Point from the tournament itself with a 73-54 victory in the play-in game. Malta defeated Harlem in the semi-final, 85-46.

The Scotties will open the Divisionals on Thursday, Feb. 25, at 1 p.m. against the Choteau Bulldogs, the District 1B champion with zero in the loss column. Choteau overtook Fairfield in their district title game on Saturday, 71-54. Other round-one games include Poplar vs. 1B #4 seed Conrad, Malta vs. 1B #3 Shelby, and 2B #3 Harlem vs. 1B #2 Fairfield. The Divisionals are hosted by Malta High School.

Scottie head coach Norm Braaten acknowledged his young team’s disappointment, but praised how hard the boys have been working all season. He told the Courier, “The kids know what we are up against, of course. Our goals for the Divisionals are to win a couple of games--but more importantly, I hope we got over our jitters, and can play to our full potential, and enjoy ourselves. This is a great opportunity for the young kids to get some tournament experience and to be inspired by what they see.”

Poplar 60, Glasgow 42

Scottie senior Ethan Etchart drained a three at the buzzer to pull Glasgow within one at the half, 27-26. However, that was the closest Glasgow got to the hot-streaking Poplar team.

Under Poplar’s pressure, Glasgow steadily fell behind in the second half, allowing Poplar to go on a 21-8 run in the fourth quarter. Easy layups wouldn’t fall in on Glasgow’s end, and Poplar just could not seem to miss. Glasgow shot 18-60, or 30 percent, from the field. Poplar went 25-51, nearly 50 percent.

Coach Braaten said of the boys: “Most of our kids didn’t have any tournament experience … We were tentative out there even though we beat them twice in the regular season. But that’s how a young team like us learns, though.”

Scottie senior Ethan Etchart poured in 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, and Zach Miller finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Five other players contributed to scoring: Cade Myrick added 6, Chase Hughes 5, Tyler Hersom 4, Trent Herbert 2, Luke Breigenzer got in the game after a long hiatus and scored 2.

Leading the Indians was senior Connor Ogle with 22 points. Damon Sadler followed with 14, Waylon Youpee 7, Coy Atkinson 6, Boy Youngman and Orlando Young each with 4, and Kenny Smoker 3.

Harlem 56, Glasgow 50

Jumping to a 13-9 lead in the first quarter, the Scotties’ slow-moving offense gave opportunities to the Wildcats to cause turnovers and shoot threes, and Harlem took over the lead at the half, 27-21.

As the Wildcats stretched their lead to 10 in the third quarter, the Scotties finally sprang to their feet on D and fired more shots. A series of threes from Glasgow’s Myrick and Etchart cut the Scotties’ deficit to two with 0:23 on the clock, and victory suddenly appeared within grasp. Harlem’s Corbin Brockie hit two key free throws, however, and with single digits left on the clock, Marcus Henry got a steal and a successful fast break, and dashed the Scotties’ hope for a third-place finish at the tournament.

Etchart finished the night with 14 points, followed by Myrick with 10 points and six rebounds. They both sank two three-pointers. Other scorers include Luke Breigenzer coming off the bench for 8 points, Bryce Legare 6, Zach Miller 4, Chase Hughes and Trent Herbert each with one trey, and Tyler Hersom 2. Legare led on the boards with seven.

The Scotties shot 20-65, or 31 percent. The Wildcats were 20-45 with their field goals, or 44 percent.

Harlem’s offense was dominated by senior point guard Marcus Henry, who scored 35 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Brockie and Michael Butterfly each added 8 points, Keahna Little 3, and Hollin Fox 2.