Hello Scots Fans,

I hope and pray that you all have had a blessed week, and God has given you the strength to accomplish great things, or to overcome any hardships you may have encountered this week. Our Scots basketball team had two more games this week, and are heading into the last 4 weeks of the season. It is hard to imagine that we are already getting to the final stretch of the season.

On Wednesday we traveled to Milton, Massachusetts to face the Curry College Colonels. Curry has been struggling this year, and after watching them play on video, it is hard for me to imagine that they are not winning more games.  They have very talented players and very good size, but they are a young team.  We opened the game on a tear, and jumped out to a big early lead behind the very hot shooting of Bernie McGuinness. Less than 9 minutes into the game, we were ahead 33-4.  Although there was a lot of time left in the game, and Curry did continue to battle throughout the rest of the game, we were able to secure a 102-78 victory. It was easily the best offensive game of the season, especially our shooting from 3-point range. We finished the game 14-27 from long distance, led by Bernie's 6-8 and Bryce Smith's 3-4 from three.  Bernie led the way with 28 points and Alex Daniel chipped in with 11. Drew Brander and Brandon Swann came off the bench to add 11 and 10 points respectively. A win on the road in conference play is always a good thing. This game was also a wonderful opportunity to play some players who do not ordinarily play in games but give a great effort in practice every day.

We followed Wednesday's game with a home contest against crosstown rival Endicott College. We played very well at their place earlier in the season, but lost by one on a three-point play with 10 seconds to go in the game. After the offensive explosion against Curry, I was hoping we could keep that positive momentum going. Endicott obviously had other plans. In the first half, very unexpectedly, we played tentatively at both ends of the floor, and Endicott ran out to a 50-30 lead at the intermission. I honestly could not understand the contrast between our game on Wednesday, and the first half of this game. In the second half, we played much more like I was expecting, but we could not quite make it all the way back. We cut their lead to as little as 3 points, but eventually lost 89-84. I was very proud of the fact that we did not roll over in the second half and get run out of the gym, and I think it showed what we are capable of doing against one of the top teams in the conference. Isaac Jarvis had an outstanding game with 23 points, followed by Bernie with 20.  Ryan Brooks came off the bench to contribute a double/double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. I also want to mention the great defensive game that Treyton Tebbs had in guarding one of the top players in the league, Marcus Monagnino. He had had 4 consecutive games scoring 30 points or more, and Treyton held him to 15 points. Treyton has not had the offensive season that I am sure he was expecting, but he has been the best defensive player in the conference all season.

This week we have two more conference matchups. Tomorrow we will face off against Nichols College on the road, followed by a home game on Saturday against Hartford. Although Nichols is having a down year by their standards, they are still one of the most dangerous teams in the league. They have the second leading scorer in the conference (Javen Flowers-Smith) and the second leading field goal percentage shooter (Simon Percy) as well. We played very well against them in our first match up, and came away with an 85-81 overtime victory. That was the first time that we have beaten them in several years, and I am sure they will be looking for redemption on their home court on Tuesday.

On Saturday we will welcome Hartford to the Bennett Center, but hopefully we will not be very accommodating hosts on the floor. Just a few weeks back, on January 4^th, we lost at their place 85-81. We played well in the first half of that game, but as we have done several times in the last few weeks, we struggled defensively in the second half and gave up 51 points on 58% shooting from the field, and 71% from three (5-7). They have one of the best shooters in the conference on their team, but if we defend the 3-point line much better, we should have a much better outcome.

With eight games to go in conference play, we find ourselves in a difficult position. We are 3-7, and down in 8^th place. We have shown that we can play with the top teams in the conference (WNE and Endicott), but we need to put together a 40-minute game. If we do that, we can recover from our current situation, and go into the conference tournament on a roll, and I promise that no one will want to play us. Keep praying for our team, and let's see where God takes us these last four weeks of the season. Thank you again for your continued support, and hopefully we will continue to get crowds at home like this past Saturday's Endicott game.

God Bless,
Coach Murphy

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
-Isaiah 41:10