LAURINBURG — Scotland boys basketball coach Matt Justin issued a challenge to the Fighting Scots at halftime of their game against Jack Britt on Tuesday. The Scots were up 27-18, and Justin wanted his team to step on the gas.
“I wanted to see if we could extend it to get a 20-point win at home,” Justin said. “The possibility was there if we came out in the third quarter ready to play.”
The Scots were up to the challenge. They routed the Buccaneers 61-37 after starting the second half with a 10-0 run.
Bruce Wall led Scotland (8-7, 4-2 SAC) with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Mandrell Johnson had 13 points and Garrett McRae added 12 points for the Scots, who won their third game in a row and picked up their second victory in as many nights.
At the beginning of the game Scotland jumped out to a 10-4 lead after holding Jack Britt (4-12, 1-5 SAC) scoreless for half of the first quarter. The Scots didn’t have much trouble dealing with the Buccaneers for the rest of the night, and Scotland was able to rest most of its starters in the fourth quarter.
That allowed Scotland’s backups to get some playing time, and they made the most of their opportunity. Scotland outscored Jack Britt 16-12 in the fourth quarter.
“I thought they were scrappy,” Justin said of the backups. “Some of them were a little hesitant to make a move… but I thought they looked pretty good overall. We played right with them with our backups in.
“That’s always good that they can play extended minutes and try to get more relaxed on the floor. It was good to see.”
Langston Davis and Greg Robinson had seven points apiece for Jack Britt.
Scotland will play at Jack Britt on Friday night. The Scots will then host Purnell Swett on Tuesday. That will be there last home game until senior night on Feb. 11.
“The goal is to take care of the next two days and get ourselves ready to play,” Justin said. “It’ll be a tougher challenge on the road against them. They’ve had several games where they’ve been right there with some of the teams and haven’t been able to pull it off.
“Hopefully we’ll play well on Friday and keep the momentum heading into next week.”
