Scotland U16 Men made it three wins out of three at the FIBA U16 European Championships Division C this afternoon with a 94-31 win over San Marino.
It was, on paper at least, expected to be a comfortable win for Scotland, having previously picked up wins against Albania and Moldova, whilst San Marino suffered an opening game defeat to Luxembourg, that game ending 33-103.
Piper McGowan opened the scoring with a three-pointer, which Owen Heddle then followed up with a lay up as Scotland opened up an early advantage. Jack Hencher extended Scotland’s lead to seven, having taken advantage of a steal, and it was a case of déjà vu as Hencher extended Scotland’s streak to nine with another lay up from a steal.
Callum Mortimer added four points before San Marino found the basket from the free throw line with 6:26 left in the first. San Marino added three more from outside the arc but Euan Birch quickly responded and Cameron Watson added two more as Scotland’s 13-point advantage was restored. The advantage was maintained until the end of the period, with an extra lay up taking the score to 21-6.
Heddle, Mortimer and Birch all found the basket early in the second as Scotland looked to continue their strong start to the game. Scotland’s advantage exceeded 20 points after Watson made a lay up, forcing San Marino to call the time out. The break in play worked for San Marino as they found the basket, which they closely followed with another.
Scotland kept their tally ticking over from the free throw line but an and one from San Marino sparked another four-point scoring streak. Ben Roberts and William Kemp both found the basket as Head Coach Darryl Hardy made use of his roster. Scotland continued to control the game as the halr concluded. 45-16.
San Marino recorded the first basket of the third but any slims hopes they had faded as Birch, Roberts and Steel combined to spark a six-point scoring run for Scotland. Birch added seven more points as Scotland’s defence kept San Marino at bay and further baskets from Mortimer and Watson gave Scotland a 43-point advantage with three minutes left in the quarter.
San Marino finally found their range in the final few minutes, netting a further five points but every time Scotland had a reply waiting as they ended the third in full control. 72-27.
There was no let up from Scotland in the fourth as they added three quick baskets without reply. Birch and Mortimer continued their scoring efforts as Scotland’s scoring streak reached double-digits. Hencher and Chandran added to Scotland’s tally, the latter with an and one, as the fourth saw Scotland record a 14-0 run in four minutes.
With five minutes left on the clock, San Marino halted Scotland’s run at 18 points with a lay up, but it made little difference to the outcome of the game as Scotland scored a further six points to secure the win. 94-31.
The Scots will now face Luxembourg tomorrow with the chance to top the group with a perfect record.
