Roundup: Scotland uses third-quarter run to prevail against Purnell Swett

LAURINBURG — Four scoring runs of 8-0 or more materialized in Wednesday’s nonconference matchup between the Scotland Fighting Scots men’s basketball team and the Purnell Swett Rams. Three were runs of 8-0; only one was better.

A layup by Jerrison Dixon to tie the score at 20-20 with 6:19 left in the third quarter prompted a 19-0 Scotland run, part of a 25-4 point differential in the period. The scoring swing helped Scotland prevail 56-38 and end a four-game losing skid.

“It’s just morale,” Scotland head coach Michael Malpass said on his team getting back in the win column. “Losing is not fun for anybody that’s part of this organization. And so, we knew last night (against Southern Lee) it was going to be tough, but we felt like if we didn’t win last night, we knew this was a very winnable game. So, you’ve got to win the ones that you’ve got a great chance (in), and you’ve got to compete in the other ones.”

Malpass accredited one of his assistants, Walter Steele, for motivating his team following a sluggish first half.

“I just told coach at the half, Coach Steele, I said, ‘Listen, I need a new voice to tell them (the team) off.’ Because I tell them off all the time in a positive way, but they needed somebody else to challenge them,” Malpass said. “So, Coach Steele went in and did his thing, and then I told them if they didn’t do better, tomorrow would be a running practice. So, I think that’s all they needed to hear to at least do what we told them to do, regardless of what the outcome was. So, Coach Steele was big and motivating.”

“Our plan was to come back (in the second half) and be more aggressive on defense and be more aggressive on offense,” Steele said. “We started out putting the ball inside, and John (Graham) was very successful inside. And we had to (have) better shot selection and play a little more aggressive on defense; talk and communicate and get the job done.”

Leading the way for Scotland (8-12) in the third was Shylan Harrell, with 10 of his 14 points for the game; to end the quarter, Harrell made a layup, then another that went in as the buzzer sounded.

”We came in a little slow, but we had to go in the locker room, get our heads straight and listen to coach,” Harrell said. “And we came out and did what we had to do.”

The first 8-0 run came after Scotland’s Dylan Lampley commenced the first-quarter scoring with two free throws; Purnell Swett’s Darius Bethea made a shot off the glass and Collin Sampson and Timothy Locklear each hit corners 3-pointers. Scotland tied it at 8-8, but Sampson banked in a jumper to put Purnell Swett (4-13) ahead 10-8 at the end of the quarter.

The Scots notched the game’s second 8-0 run to kick off the second, with Graham netting five of them. But after Scotland jumped out to its 16-10 lead, the Rams closed the half with eight points in the final five minutes to lead 18-16 at the break.

“Communication and just not talking to each other,” Harrell said when asked about Scotland’s first-half struggles. “We had to get our head straight in the locker room and just talk it out.”

“We didn’t attack,” Malpass said. “They couldn’t guard us, and we didn’t make them guard us. And so, when we got downhill, they had no answer. And then, that deflates the team. And then, defensively, it makes you play harder when kids are scoring. So, I just think the offensive output makes the defensive effort better. And because we attacked, they just struggled to guard us (in the second half).”

Dixon was the first scorer in the third quarter, taking a layup to even it at 18-18; Sampson responded with his own for the Rams before Dixon made another to begin the 19 consecutive points for the Scots, who led 41-22 once the quarter ended.

Simmeon Lennon’s jumper a minute into the fourth quarter put the Rams’ hole at 41-24 — the smallest it’d be. Another minute later, Lampley threw down a one-handed dunk to put the Scotland lead at 44-24, and with 4:50 remaining, Graham’s shot that kissed the window before going in notched Scotland’s largest lead at 48-25. Purnell Swett didn’t come to within 19 points, until James Bullard’s 3 made it 56-38.

“We’ve just got to keep pushing and lock in and keep our heads on straight,” Harrell said.

Graham led Scotland in scoring on back-to-back nights with 15 points; Lampley scored nine and Jaiquez Caldwell had seven.

“John (Graham) has been a great difference,” Steele said. “John has matured a whole lot coming into this season. He’s accepted his role of what he’s got to do, and he’s been aggressive. We’ve been on John real hard because John’s a great kid; John’s got a big heart. He’s just going to keep doing what he’s got to do.”

Sampson finished with 10 points, and Jeremiah Barnes had six on a pair of 3s for the Rams.

The Scots get back to Sandhills Athletic Conference action Friday at Union Pines.

Lady Scots ram past Purnell Swett

Although the Purnell Swett Rams hung around for a bit, the Scotland women’s basketball team took care of business on its home floor Wednesday night by getting a 55-30 nonconference win in Laurinburg.

”They (the Rams) beat us twice last year, and the girls wanted some payback,” Scotland coach Roshien McClain said. “So, the girls knew coming in they really wanted this game. But overall, I think we played well; we played smooth. They threw something different at us we’ve never seen before — triangle 2. But we’ve just got to make shots. Make shots, and then our defense can take care of the rest.”

Morgan Thompson spearheaded a balanced scoring effort for Scotland (16-2) with 14 points, including eight points from the free-throw line; Madysan Hammonds nailed three treys and had 13 points and Alicia McClain scored 12.

“Just keep attacking the basket,” Thompson said she told herself to get to the foul line.

As a whole, Scotland swished in 18 free throws but missed 17.

“We’ll get in the gym tomorrow, shoot some more free throws,” Roshien McClain said. “But just continue to do what we do.”

Purnell Swett (5-13) kept it tight early, only trailing 6-4. But the Lady Scots outscored the Rams 14-2 to take a 20-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

”It don’t matter how good they are; we play our game,” Thompson said.

Scotland extended its lead to 28-10 in the second, but a quick six-point burst put Purnell Swett back within 12. Alicia McClain made a shot in the paint to halt the potential Rams run but received a technical foul on the next possession, where Niyah Locklear added a point for Purnell Swett on the technical free throws; Thompson made a layup on the next possession to make Scotland’s halftime lead 32-17.

“That tech really got us going,” Thompson said. “It really got our energy up.”

Scotland established a 36-21 advantage about two minutes into the second half; Hammonds and Purnell Swett’s Kamryn Locklear traded 3-point shots before Thompson’s free throw pushed it to a 16-point lead. With 20 seconds to go in the third, Purnell Swett’s Jayda Dial cut it to 40-26 with a layup heading into the fourth.

The opening six points of the last period were by Scotland; Purnell Swett didn’t score until the 3:39 mark on an Alexis Locklear layup. Winding down, the Lady Scots scored eight of the final 10 points, with Ramsey Hale — a reserve player who averages less than a point and sees minutes sparingly — netting four at the foul stripe.

“She wanted this game more than anybody,” Roshien McClain said on Hale. “She got a lot of contact. She was ready to play. Should have brought her in earlier if she was that ready. I didn’t know she was that ready. She said, ‘Coach, put me in now.’ I was like, ‘All right, let’s go. Come on.’ So when she said that, she was really ready. I think she did real well tonight, and she rebounded well. So I’m going to talk to her. I need that every game.”

Niyah Locklear scored seven points, and Alexis Locklear, Terra Bullard, True Ellerbee and Dial had four for Purnell Swett.

“I told them (the Lady Scots) they (the Rams) were big,” Roshien McClain said. “They play two bigs. If you heard me, I was saying they’re going to (Niyah Locklear). That’s why they brought (Adisyn Bland) and (Bullard) at the high post to throw it in to (Niyah Locklear). But I think we did a pretty good job with her; also, not allowing her to just get position.”

The Lady Scots visit Union Pines on Friday.