Scotties End Season In Malta

The Scottie boys basketball team had a disappointing end to their 2020 season at the Northern B Divisional Tournament in Malta on Feb. 27 and 28.

Opening the tournament taking on the number one seed, Fairfield, the Scotties managed to hold their own until the end of the third quarter when Fairfield would pull away and maintain their momentum until the close of the fourth. In the end, the Scotties would go onto lose, 42 to 59.

In the first quarter of play, the Scotties came out on top, with Keigan Skolrud racking up nine points-eight from the field and one from the free-throw line. He was helped by Alec Boland, who scored four points, and Tim Wageman who scored two points. Conversely, Fairfield fell behind early and struggled to catch up with a number of missed baskets and turnovers, only putting up 13 points in the first.

The second quarter proved to be a scoring round of play for both teams. Skolrud managed four points along with two each from Kobe Sibley and Wageman, making the Scotties' second quarter total eight points. Regardless, the Scotties still outscored Fairfield, who seemed to struggle to find the basket and control the ball. They put up only six and the Scotties held a six-point lead at half time-25 to 19.

For the majority of the third quarter, things seemed to go exactly the Scotties' way. They held onto their lead and Fairfield seemed poised to be upset, but with only a few minutes left to go in the quarter, Fairfield broke out of their rut and quickly tied the game with only 2:32 to go in the third. In that just over two minute period, Fairfield overcame and ran away from the Scotties. Fairfield would finish the quarter ahead by eight having scored 20 total points against Glasgow's six to make it 39 to 31.

All was not lost for Glasgow in the fourth quarter, however, and they battled to keep pace and try to close the gap and reclaim the lead. Fairfield's momentum though, proved too much to overcome and they came out swinging in the fourth to widen their lead. At the end of the period of play, the Scotties had put up 11 points, among them a three-pointer by Sibley, but they had also missed three from the free-throw line and failed to get the ball underneath the basket. At the same time, Fairfield was not only scoring from the field, but were given 11 opportunities to score from the free-throw line, opportunities they capitalized on by making eight of them. The game would close in Fairfield's favor-59 to 42.

On Feb. 28, the Scotties met Rocky Boy for the consolation round at the Malta gymnasium. True to form, the Scotties came out in the first quarter swinging. Boland-coming off an injury in the game against Fairfield-racked up eight points, six of which from behind the three-point line. Wageman and Sibley contributed two and the Scotties would end the quarter ahead by seven with a score of 12 to five.

The second quarter on the other hand found the Scotties in a much tighter competition. Breaking out to claim a number of dramatic baskets, Rocky Boy scored 19 points-three from the free-throw line and six from the perimeter. The Scotties held their own though, and answered with yet another three-pointer by Boland, along with help from Skolrud, who put up four, and Wageman and Trevor Klind, who both put up two. The Scotties came away with 11 total points and kept the game tight at Glasgow, 23 to Rocky Boy's 24 heading into the half.

It was the third quarter when Rocky Boy began to pull away from the Scotties. Multiple factors contributed to the run of points. One was the consistent three-point shooting-Rocky Boy made nine points from the perimeter. The second was three-point plays-Rocky Boy made two baskets while being fouled and made both follow-up free-throws, which made Rocky Boys total number of three-point possessions equal five for 15 points. They would end the third with 21 total points. The Scotties spread their scoring out in the third with no player achieving more than two points. Thanks to baskets from Skolrud, Wageman, Klind, Boland and Sibley, the Scotties put up 10 points but fell behind by 12 to make the score 33 to 45.

Not to be discounted, the Scotties came out in the fourth looking to redeem themselves and stay in the tournament. Boland put up his fourth three-pointer and the Scotties went six for nine from the free-throw line. They also managed six from the inside to give their fourth quarter a 15-point total. The Scotties went point for point against Rocky Boy in the final period of play, but it proved too little to change the outcome. Rocky Boy would win 60 to 48 and end the Scotties 2020 season.