PEMBROKE — Trey Graham scored 20 points, C.J. Settles hit five 3-pointers and Khalib Simmons connected four times from beyond the arc to help Scotland’s boys basketball team earn an 82-60 win at Purnell Swett on Thursday night.
Darriante Parker had 19 points for the Rams (8-10, 1-8 SAC), who lost their eighth straight Sandhills Athletic Conference game.
Scotland outscored Purnell Swett 26-14 in the third quarter. That surge helped the Fighting Scots (7-12, 4-5) pull away after holding a 35-29 lead at halftime.
The third-quarter run was fueled by the hot shooting of Graham, Settles and Simmons. Graham scored eight points in the period, while Settles and Simmons knocked down two 3-pointers apiece.
“That was huge,” said Matt Justin, Scotland’s head coach. “C.J. had been struggling almost since the holiday tournament.”
Settles, who made a pair of 3-pointers in the second period after draining one in the first quarter, said Scotland’s guards felt comfortable taking deep shots throughout the night. Scotland registered 11 3-pointers as a team.
He also said it was gratifying to finish off a season sweep of Purnell Swett. The Scots beat the Rams 60-55 in Laurinburg earlier this season. That win was Scotland’s first win of the season after the team started the campaign with a seven-game losing streak.
“We finally started getting on a role,” Settles said. “We’re just winning.”
Rufus Harris added 14 points for the Rams. Purnell Swett played without their leading post player, Xavier Jones, and Justin said his absence helped the Scots apply consistent pressure on defense.
“Ultimately, your goal is to win home games and see if you can steal a few on the road,” Justin said. “We were able to get a couple here recently. We were able to get Jack Britt on the road, and now Purnell.”
Slow start hurts Lady Rams
Scotland’s girls basketball team held Purnell Swett to single digits for three quarters, and that helped the Lady Scots run away with a 33-18 victory on Thursday.
Nautika Moore scored 12 points for the Lady Scots (8-11, 2-7). Asjah Swindell added 10 points for the visitors.
Jada Coward and JaiLeana Deese scored four points apiece for the Lady Rams (4-13, 0-9).
“They played hard in the first quarter, second quarter, third quarter and fourth quarter,” Scotland head coach Mallarie Snow said of her team’s effort. “I haven’t really seen that in a while, so I’m very proud of them for doing that. We moved the ball around pretty well. We had more than one person scoring all of our points.”
Scotland took a 16-6 lead into the locker rooms after holding the Lady Rams to two points in the second quarter. Purnell Swett’s Destiny Locklear made a 3-pointer early in the third quarter, but that was her team’s only basket of the period.
“Our defense propels our offense,” Snow said. “A lot of the time they like to do a dribble drive with their offense, and so we did a lot of practicing with cutting that off and forcing them to take outside shots.”
Scotland won its second consecutive game. The Lady Scots defeated Marlboro County on Saturday for their first win of 2019.
Next up
Scotland plays at Hoke on Friday night, and Purnell Swett travels to Pinecrest.
