Mavericks Go 1-1 in Glasgow

The North Country Mavericks basketball team split their first weekend of games as they defeated the Harlem JV Wildcats and fell to the Terry Terriers at the 2022 Glasgow Class C Showcase.

North Country will head to another showcase this weekend, but this time the team will head to Lewistown for the 2022 Fergus Holiday Basketball Classic. On Friday, December 9, the Mavericks will face the Fort Benton Longhorns at 8:30 p.m. On Saturday, December 10, the Mavericks will face the Denton-Geyser-Stanford Bearcats at 2:30 p.m.

The Mavericks started their 2022-23 campaign off with a bang as they defeated the Harlem Wildcats JV team 63-35 on Friday, December 2.

North Country was led by Coy Bowman who scored 21 points and knocked down five treys. Teammate Blaine Downing had 18 points.

First-year Mavericks Head Coach Haakon Fredrickson was asked about the duo's performance.

"We really tried to give them opportunities to have the ball in their hands," Coach Fredrickson said. "Blaine is a ball-hawk and goes where the ball goes. I feel this gives him great opportunities for open looks around the rim. Coy has really developed his shot early this year and we try to produce situations where he has good, open looks on the perimeter. He moved to get open often and that aspect also contributed to his offensive production."

The Mavericks outscored the Wildcats 33-14 in the first half and their highest scoring quarter was the fourth. Austin Hanley scored seven of his nine points in the fourth. Laytin Erickson had six points, Kade Strommen had five points, and Andrew Boucher had four points.

The Mavericks would fall to the Terry Terriers 75-33 on Saturday, December 3.

The team was led by Downing who scored 12 points. Bowman had 11 points and two three-point field goals. Hanley and Strommen each scored four points, and Boucher had two points.

"Terry is a very well coached team," Coach Fredrickson said. "They had 10-12 players that could rotate in and not have much effect on their offensive and defensive production. They had some big players in the post that we struggled boxing out on both ends of the court and they shot the ball very well."

Coach Fredrickson was asked what he thought of the team's first weekend. He was asked what some positives were as well as things that they could work on.

"We had some huge positives and negatives this weekend," Coach Fredickson said. "Our zone and man defense needs to be cleaned up. More on ball pressure and better weak side rebounding will be a focus for us. Offensively we need to focus on making passes with intent and limit passing throw defenders. I felt we handled presses well and shot mid-long range effectively. We began to discover our defensive prowess against Harlem and I feel that will be an aspect that will define this team as the year progresses."