Roundup: Scotland clobbers Douglas Byrd for 3rd straight win

LAURINBURG — Last Friday’s 67-30 nonconference win over the Douglas Byrd Eagles in Fayetteville was the Scotland Fighting Scots men’s basketball team’s first win.

Tuesday’s ending result for Scotland in its rematch with Douglas Byrd in Laurinburg ended in the same fashion — a 65-25 win — helping the Scots move out to a three-game win streak.

“They (the Eagles) play hard. I appreciate that about their coach (Fernando Rivera) and their kids,” Scotland head coach Michael Malpass said. “In our game tonight, we were able to execute some things. We added a little flex just to get guys moving. And I felt like that was something we can do against anybody. But we’ve only had four practices, so we’ve played four games in seven days with four practices. So, you can’t throw the kitchen sink at them. You’ve got to feed them baby food. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Scotland used 16 points from Tashad Russell, 13 from Jaiquez Caldwell, 12 from Dylan Lampley, nine from Brady Fowler, eight from Zion Morrison, and five from Quatavius Everette to move to 3-1. Dajuan Gibson missed his second consecutive game with an illness.

“What I like about these guys is … they’re used to winning, they’re athletic, and they’re competitive,” Malpass said. “With guys like that, it’s up to us as coaches to keep it simple, find what they can do, and just give them a chance. Their minds are good. I’ve been impressed.”

Douglas Byrd (0-6) scored just two points in the first quarter, following a 3-pointer in the left corner by Fowler to put Scotland on the board. Fowler connected on another trey after Justin Butler’s layup gave the Eagles points and kickstarted a 21-0 run that spanned into the second quarter; Scotland led 22-2 at the end of the first.

“When we flatten the floor and got guys dragging through, we created some shots for Brady, which eventually we want to skeleton out for shooters and drivers,” Malpass said.

After Caldwell laid in two points a minute and 17 seconds into the second, Douglas Byrd’s Zachary Colon was fouled and connected on two free throws to make it 24-4. Four Scotland points later, Renmari Willis hit a layup to push Douglas Byrd’s deficit to 22 before Morrison’s layup made it two points more. Douglas Byrd’s Ethan Colon and Anthony Winston hit subsequential layups to end the half with a 30-10 score.

The Scots scored nine points before the Eagles managed their first in the third quarter. With 5:12 left in the period, Willis used a finger roll to snap the scoreless streak for Douglas Byrd before Lampley answered to push Scotland’s lead to 41-14, which grew to 53-17 at the end of the frame.

While Scotland’s advantage became ultimately greater, Malpass said he had his team continue to play press defense from the first half into the second to work his guys who were football players into “basketball shape.”

“A lot of people say, well, you pressed for three quarters against a team that wasn’t very good, but we’re not in basketball shape,” Malpass said. “So, if we just sit back and play zone, that’s not going to help us get in shape. So, it’s not us trying to rub it in. It’s us trying to get guys to run up and down the floor because we’re trying to steal time.”

Scotland got to a running-clock lead of 63-21 with just under five minutes remaining on a 3-ball from Russell, and Lampley made the final bucket of the night for the Scots on a right-elbow jumper.

Winston and Zachary Colon each had six points for Douglas Byrd, and Jourdan Brown-Johnson and Willis had four apiece.

Scotland is on the road against Jack Britt in Fayetteville on Thursday.

Lady Scots gut out win against Eagles

In a contest expected to be a tune-up for this weekend’s doubleheader with Jack Britt and Marlboro County following Monday night’s game against Lumberton, the Douglas Byrd Eagles gave the Scotland women’s basketball team all they had.

But when it was all said and done, Scotland still prevailed but only by a final of 45-39 — despite beating Douglas Byrd 66-29 last Friday in Fayetteville.

Scotland head coach Roshien McClain gave a summarized explanation of what he told his team after the game.

“(Douglas Byrd) knows what you did to them the first time; they’re not going to sit there and say, oh, we’re playing Scotland, we’re just going to lay down,” McClain said. “They’re not going to lay down. And once you give a team hope, that’s what happens.”

After holding a 28-11 lead at the midway point, Scotland (4-0) allowed a 13-0 burst from Douglas Byrd (1-5), which included five points from Shania McLucas, to make the score 28-24 with a little less than 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.

“I’m communicating, everybody looks over there, and I’m telling them, ‘go back to 2-3,’” McClain said. “Alicia (McClain) picks up her fourth (foul). So, I’ve got to sit her down. And then it just goes (downhill) from there because she’s our defensive anchor and another person out there that’s a threat.”

A Morgan Thompson finger roll, an Alicia McClain right-wing 3, and a Kayla Simmons layup extended the Lady Scots’ lead back to double digits at 35-24. But McLucas splashed in a 3-pointer to bring it back to single digits in the waning moments of the third.

After Madison Dixon sank a floater for the fourth quarter’s opening basket, Douglas Byrd’s Jazmine Burns made a finger roll on the next possession. Thompson and Alicia McClain used back-to-back layups to push the score to 41-29, with Scotland holding an eight-to-12-point lead, up until 34 seconds remained, when Sheryraye Johnson found the bottom of the net with a layup to make it 45-39. Neither team scored the rest of the way.

“Foul trouble, lack of effort; I don’t want to hear we played the night before,” Roshien McClain said. “I don’t care. Other teams are doing it, too. They (Douglas Byrd) played the night before. So that’s no excuse. Maybe because we were home for the first time. I don’t know.”

Scotland started down 4-0 but quickly took the lead it wouldn’t lose with an 8-0 run that featured a top-of-the-key 3-ball from Alicia McClain, a layup and free throw by Thompson, and a layup from Dixon. Madysan Hammonds laced two shots from long range, and Alicia McClain made another to put Scotland up 17-7 at the end of the first.

After a lackluster start to the second by both teams, Alicia McClain broke the scoring open with a layup at the 6:36 mark. McLucas made a pair at the stripe to put the Eagles down by 10 at 19-9 before the Lady Scots dropped seven straight points. Johnson sent in a layup to end the dry spell for Douglas Byrd, but Thompson made one of her own at the halftime buzzer to try and send Scotland into halftime with momentum — which didn’t last coming out of the break.

Alicia McClain dropped 13 points for Scotland; Thompson had 10; Hammonds had six; and Dixon and Simmons each had four. Jakiya Brown didn’t play due to a hand injury, and Ramsey Hale was out because of an illness.

“Jakiya has the hand, and she played last night (against Lumberton), but she really couldn’t do much of (anything) like she wanted to,” Roshien McClain said. “She said, ‘All I can give you is defense, coach.’ I said, ‘That’s fine, give me defense.’ And Ramsey’s sick. So hopefully, we’ll have her by Friday.”

McLucas paced Douglas Byrd with 12 points; Gemaiyia Johnson had eight; and Sheryraye Johnson had seven.