Scotland guard Isaac Ferguson (23) brings the ball up-court during Monday night’s win against Fairmont. Ferguson dropped all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter to help Scotland pull away.
                                 Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

Scotland guard Isaac Ferguson (23) brings the ball up-court during Monday night’s win against Fairmont. Ferguson dropped all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter to help Scotland pull away.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

<p>Lady Scots guard Madison Dixon (20) inbounds the ball from the baseline during Monday night’s game against Fairmont.</p>
                                 <p>Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

Lady Scots guard Madison Dixon (20) inbounds the ball from the baseline during Monday night’s game against Fairmont.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

<p>Scotland forward Jonathan Graham (34) and a Fairmont player get ready to jump for the opening tip during Monday night’s game.</p>
                                 <p>Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

Scotland forward Jonathan Graham (34) and a Fairmont player get ready to jump for the opening tip during Monday night’s game.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

<p>Lady Scots guard Morgan Thompson (11) dribbles around an Asiah McInnis screen during Monday night’s game against Fairmont.</p>
                                 <p>Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

Lady Scots guard Morgan Thompson (11) dribbles around an Asiah McInnis screen during Monday night’s game against Fairmont.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

<p>Scotland forward Lamonte’ Cousar (24) hits a baseline jumper at the end of the third quarter during Monday night’s game against Fairmont.</p>
                                 <p>Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

Scotland forward Lamonte’ Cousar (24) hits a baseline jumper at the end of the third quarter during Monday night’s game against Fairmont.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

<p>Lady Scots guard Maddyson Hammonds (24) hits a long 2-point shot during Monday night’s game against Fairmont.</p>
                                 <p>Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

Lady Scots guard Maddyson Hammonds (24) hits a long 2-point shot during Monday night’s game against Fairmont.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

LAURINBURG — What started out as the Lamonte’ Cousar (24 points, 13 rebounds) show in the first quarter, ended as the Isaac Ferguson (13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) production Monday night, as Scotland (2-0) held off the Fairmont Golden Tornadoes (0-3) 59-47.

Cousar started the game scoring 12 of the first 14 points for the Scots, including all six of Scotland’s points in the first quarter.

But, in the second quarter, after a layup by Scotland’s Jaiquez Caldwell (6 points, 3 steals) to put the Scots up 26-8, the Golden Tornadoes would go on a 7-0 run to end the half, giving them momentum heading into the third quarter.

“If we keep that game at 26-8, it’s a blowout in the third and fourth quarters,” Scotland head coach Michael Malpass said.

The Golden Tornadoes started the second half on a 7-2 run, making it 28-22.

However, when the Scots grew their lead back up to 33-24, an “and one” bucket by Fairmont would cause Scotland forward Jonathan Graham to slam the ball in frustration, leading to a technical foul.

During the technical foul shot, a double technical foul would be assessed to both teams after a confrontation between Fairmont’s Tyrek Thompson and Cousar.

“There’s two types of technical fouls,” Malpass said. “There’s a competitive technical foul that sometimes could go either way, or there’s a stupid (one), we call them belligerent, and those are an automatic ‘come to the sideline.’ So, we weren’t mad at Jonathan, it was just a dumb mistake. He’s new to our varsity program.”

“The double tech…they (Fairmont) came into our huddle, a little pushing and shoving,” Malpass said. “And, again, knowing how to handle that situation, putting your hands back; evidently there were some words that went back-and-forth.”

The Scots would lead 40-35 at the end of the third quarter after a Cousar baseline jumpshot at the buzzer.

Going into the fourth quarter, Ferguson, who had scored 17 points in Scotland’s season opener against Purnell-Swett, had zero points.

Then, a switch flipped.

Ferguson would drop all 13 of his points in the quarter, including a personal 11-0 run of his own, to help the Scots ease away from Fairmont.

Free throws were key in the win for the Scots, who connected on five of their six attempts in the fourth quarter and 18-of-30 overall.

Scotland assistant coach Chandler Herndon, who works with the team on free throws, discussed how the team has been able to improve their foul-line shooting.

“When Malpass hired me this past summer…he really wanted to emphasize three things: getting better at free throws, getting better at offhand development with the left hand, and being better teammates,” Herndon said. “I’ve been big on free throws, we’ve been doing so many drills to make it as “game-like” as possible. I’m really proud of our guys, but we’ve got a long way to go.”

The Scots’ next game will be against the Marlboro County Bulldogs in Bennettsville on Dec. 10 at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Lady Scots falter against Fairmont

Following a 67-48 loss to the Lady Rams of Purnell-Swett on Friday, the Lady Scots (0-2) knew they had to step up if they wanted to win against an undefeated Fairmont (4-0) squad Monday night. But, the Lady Scots would run out of juice in a tied ballgame during the fourth quarter, falling 45-40 to the Golden Tornadoes.

The Lady Scots started the game up 7-2 in the first quarter after five points from Morgan Thompson (19 points) and a layup by Nyasia McQueen (4 points). The Golden Tornadoes would score the final six points of the quarter, however, as they led 8-7. The Lady Scots never saw the lead again.

“Getting in the hole hurt us,” Lady Scots head coach Roshein McClain said. “Both teams started off slow and, then, we kind of pulled away, and, then, we started turning the ball over for no reason. I already told them we were gonna be man-to-man. I already told them they (Fairmont) were gonna throw it inside. And, we did a much better job of denying it inside in the second half. But, we get lazy at some point and let them (Fairmont) get a tip-in or a fast-break bucket, or we miss a layup.”

During the first quarter, Lady Scots forward Alicia McClain (9 points) would injure her ankle, but play with a brace on the rest of the game.

Roshein McClain knew with her being hurt, she wouldn’t be able to produce like usual.

“I don’t know how much the ankle was hurting tonight of Alicia,” Roshein McClain said. “She’s not going to tell me the truth at all times cause she wants to play. But, you could see her mobility wasn’t there on the offensive end. It wasn’t there at all and that really hurt us.”

The Lady Scots would only score three buckets in the second quarter, but would only be down 22-14 at halftime.

The third quarter saw the Lady Scots get within a point of the Golden Tornadoes after Thompson connected on a 3-pointer. But, Fairmont started to pull away once again, ending the frame up 36-29.

A 9-2 run by the Lady Scots opened the fourth quarter, as the Lady Scots would tie the game at 38 apiece with just over three minutes to go in the fourth quarter after a Thompson layup. But, Fairmont would close out the game on a 7-2 run, ultimately downing the Lady Scots.

Lady Scots guard Maddyson Hammonds struggled once again, finishing with four points after finishing with zero points against the Rams.

Roshein McClain believes his elite shot-maker will get out of her slump soon, however.

“She hit two shots that she normally wouldn’t make, they just went in,” Roshein McClain said. “But, she’s just gotta keep shooting. I’d never tell her to stop shooting…because at any point, she may hit eight in a row. When you’ve got a shooter (in a slump), the only way you’re going to get out of it is by shooting. It ain’t doing me no good not shooting it. It’s gonna fall; somebody’s gonna catch it. I don’t know who is gonna catch it, but somebody’s gonna catch the heat of her and that’s gonna be real good for us.”

Despite the back-to-back losses for Roshein McClain’s team, he isn’t feeling any pressure yet, as the season is still young.

“I’m still not worried,” Roshein McClain said. “I know this team is capable of playing much better basketball in all four quarters. Not two, not one, you know, all four. So, it’s gonna happen.”

The Lady Scots head to Bennettsville for their next contest, as they’ll take on the Marlboro County Bulldogs on Dec. 10 at 6 p.m.

Reach Brandon Hodge at [email protected]