JV call-ups help No. 2 Scotland blow out No. 7 Lee County

LAURINBURG — For the last two weeks, the point guard position has been a hitch for the Scotland men’s basketball team, resulting in a three-game losing streak. With guards Tashad Russell and Tre Williams stepping away from the program, the Scots have relied heavily on Terrel Reed, Jaiquez Caldwell, and Isaac Ferguson to help man the position.

But, they received some additional help Monday night in the form of guards Zay’Mon Gibson and DaJuan Gibson. Both were called up, along with guard Brady Fowler and forward Zion Morrison, from the Scotland JV basketball team after Friday night’s game against Richmond and helped the No. 2 Scots (18-7, 8-4 Sandhills Athletic Conference) defeat the No. 7 Lee County Yellow Jackets (9-15, 2-10 SAC) by a final score of 71-43 in the first round of the SAC tournament.

“It gives you greater depth,” Scotland head coach Michael Malpass said of the JV call-ups. “It gives you greater abilities to do more things like tonight, we would typically play different zones and a little full court man, based on just a change of pace; we did it tonight for I think a quarter and a half and it really flipped the game with our pressure. It gives you, as a coach, the ability to scheme a little more. When you bring up guys who can score at the varsity level, not just be on the bench for next year, I think that’s what gets up excited. (DaJuan Gibson) is a varsity athlete right now and Zay’Mon (Gibson) has no conscience. What I love about him is…he might miss shots, but he don’t care. Those are the kind of cats you want in those games cause he’ll shoot and he’s not afraid. It’s one thing to miss a shot cause you don’t wanna take it, as opposed to, my coach has trust me, I’m gonna let it fly win, lose, or draw; he’ll do that. I told the guys ‘we have a point guard now (in Zay’Mon Gibson),’ regardless of how far we go.”

Zay’Mon Gibson, who’s a freshman, started at the point guard slot for the Scots against Lee County and scored three first quarter points from a layup and a free throw. Caldwell scored the first bucket for the Scots off a layup to tie the game at 2-all early on. A layup, coupled with a 3-pointer, from Ferguson pushed the Scots out to a 7-2 lead, before Lee County scored five of the next seven points in the period. Ferguson capped off the first quarter with a layup to send the Scots into the second quarter up 14-9.

Lee County scored the first four points of the second quarter, but back-to-back 3s by Zay’Mon Gibson and Nick McCall helped the Scots go up 20-13. The Scots ended the second quarter on a 9-1 run, after a trey by Zay’Mon Gibson and layups by DaJuan Gibson, Reed, and Ferguson, to take a 29-16 halftime lead.

Lamonte’ Cousar, who went scoreless in the first half, put up the first points of the third quarter off a layup and kick-started a 10-2 run for the Scots. What followed, however, was a 9-0 run by the Yellow Jackets to bring the Scotland lead down to 41-27, before Lamontez Cousar ended it with a layup. McCall scored six of the last eight points for the Scots in the frame to make it a 51-32 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Yellow Jackets scored eight of the first 10 points in the fourth quarter to bring the Scotland lead down to 53-40, but a layup by Ferguson and an alley-oop dunk off the backboard from Caldwell to Lamonte’ Cousar extended Scotland’s lead to 57-40. Five points in-a-row from Caldwell and back-to-back layups by Ferguson helped Scotland go up 66-43, before three free throws and another layup closed out the game for the Scots.

Ferguson put up a team-high 19 points, while McCall scored 13 and Caldwell finished with 10. Zay’Mon Gibson compiled nine points and DaJuan Gibson tallied six. Lamonte’ Cousar had eight points and received a specially designed game ball after the contest to commemorate scoring his 1,000th career point on Feb. 3 against Pinecrest.

Lee County’s Malachi McLean led all scorers with 20 points and Jayden Hill followed behind with 15.

On Feb. 7, the Scots lost to the Yellow Jackets in Sanford 67-44.

Malpass discussed how his team was able to turn the tables against Lee County.

“We had a point guard step in tonight (Zay’Mon Gibson) that’s not played with us all year and he ran the show,” Malpass said. “(Lamonte’ Cousar) got ‘triangled,’ like they did (up) there, and he just let them triangle him. We told him ‘just let them do it.’ Let the other guys prove to you that they can do what we know they can do and, then, your life’s gonna be easier.”

With the win, the Scots notched their 18th win of the season.

Malpass explained the impact of the win and why it was so important to his team.

“When we started the season, the guys wrote down what the vision was and they thought the vision was the end,” Malpass said. “They wanted to win 18 games; that was the minimal goal. And, I told them, you’re at 18 now with a lot to play for. So, it’s really cool when young people set goals. For them, it’s a life lesson that, I can attain things if I work hard. That’s gonna carry over to everything they do and that’s what makes me proud about the number 18.”

The No. 2 Scots will host the No. 3 Pinecrest Patriots on Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. in the second round of the SAC tournament, after the Patriots defeated the No. 6 Union Pines 69-33 on Monday night.

Malpass broke down the Patriots and how he sees the Scots moving onto the final round on Friday.

“They’re great; they’re well-coached,” Malpass said. “They’re not as physical, as like a Lee County. Pinecrest, they don’t have the athletes, but they have the finesse and the intelligence to really hurt you. So, guarding the 3-point line is the key and we know who can shoot it. It’s hard to beat a team three times, but I like my chances.”