Boys, girls hoops both fall at Purnell Swett; boys’ soccer gets OT win

Scots comeback comes up short

The Scotland High School varsity boys’ basketball team suffered a tight 76-71 loss to Purnell Swett in its first game coming out of quarantine.

Scotland trailed 48-37 at the end of the third quarter after the Rams ended it with a 12-0 run. Despite outscoring Purnell Swett 34-28 in the fourth quarter, the Fighting Scots were unable to get over the hump to close the deficit.

“Unfortunate to start 0-1 in conference play,” said head coach Matt Justin. “Purnell deserved to win – played with more energy.”

Seniors Mandrell Johnson and Grayson Smith, along with junior Mehki Gibson, each scored 13 points to lead the Scots (2-1, 0-1 SAC) in scoring.

Sophomore Lamonte Cousar finished with 11 points and senior Jackson Sellers added nine.

Fouls were aplenty in the game, as seven total players fouled out, including the entire Scotland starting five and two from Purnell Swett.

Lady Scots drop opener

In its first game of the season, the Scotland girls’ basketball team fell 72-31 in a road visit to Purnell Swett.

“I was proud of the effort,” said head coach Mallarie Murphy. “I had multiple girls take multiple shots that they normally don’t take. Tonight was probably one of the best nights I’ve had with players taking the initiative to score, especially behind the three.”

Freshman Madysan Hammonds led the Lady Scots (0-1, 0-1 SAC) with nine points coming on three 3-pointers. Junior Kadence Sheppard had seven points, while junior Aiden Stewart and senior Carleigh Carter each had four points. Murphy said Hammonds did well in looking for her shot and was confident in taking it.

“Kadence Sheppard was a great leader tonight vocally through her play,” Murphy said. “She probably had over 10 rebounds. Her effort and hustle is unmatched by anyone I’ve seen play since she’s been at Scotland.”

The Lady Scots hung around against the Lady Rams in the first half, trailing just 11-8 at the end of the first quarter and 23-17 with three minutes left in the half. But a 13-3 Purnell Swett run created separation at halftime, and from there the Lady Rams controlled the rest of the game.

Murphy said the Lady Rams were able to capitalize on open shots in transition, and in the second half really attacked the boards, something she added that Scotland didn’t have an answer for.

“I’m excited for the girls to continue to play, especially due to the fact that they haven’t really had that much time together,” Murphy said. “Players are learning their roles and are actually open to being coachable.

Boys soccer rebounds with overtime win

The Scotland boys’ soccer team bounced back from its season opening loss with a 1-0 overtime win over Purnell Swett.

After finishing regulation tied 0-0, sophomore forward Scotty Boone broke the deadlock in overtime scoring the game-winning goal, assisted by senior midfielder Nick Eury.

Head coach Blake Dickerson stressed how the Scots (1-1) were about to turn things around from Monday night’s loss, adding that they implemented their attacking strategies and managed to control most of the game.

“It was a great game for us,” Dickerson said. “You can tell the boys played in the way we knew they could. They possessed the ball and made attacking runs like never before.”

The win made Dickerson optimistic for the rest of the season.

“This team has the potential to win more games than any team I’ve coached here at Scotland,” Dickerson said. “This was the biggest win of my career so far and I’m so proud of how everyone played.”

Senior midfielder Drew Hamilton led the team with 10 shots, while Eury added six and Boone and senior midfielder Jordan Stone each finished with three.