Horsemen win scrimmage with Tigers
<p>Kyle Weeks of the Plains Horsemen gears up for a free throw shot during the team's scrimmage against the St. Regis Tigers on Tuesday evening. Plains won the exhibition 57-33. </p>
PLAINS – The trademark squeak of basketball shoes and the rhythmic sounds of dribbling filled the gymnasium as the Plains boys scrimmaged against St. Regis on a warm Tuesday evening last week.
The teams were full of energy and competed in a competitive scrimmage on the summer evening.
Following high school graduation in the spring and the resumption of the school year in the fall, local high school basketball teams are allowed to practice and scrimmage for a portion of the summer.
According to Plains Athletic Director Mike Cole, coaches are allowed to hold practices and scrimmages with high school athletes from June 1 through July 31.
After the July deadline players can practice together on their own but do not receive instruction from the coaching staff until the beginning of the regular season at the end of November.
All eligible players for the winter season are able to participate in summer scrimmages and practices.
The summer preseason provides Plains and other schools the first chance to utilize their incoming freshmen.
“This is the first time incoming freshmen have an opportunity to get acclimated to the team,” Cole said.
Tipoff took place at 7 p.m. and through the game both coaches made good use of their benches.
The multitude of substitutions ensured their players were not overexerted and were provided ample opportunities to receive adequate hydration.
The Horsemen controlled the pace of the scrimmage from the first few minutes of competition, maintaining possession and getting several critical takeaways to jump out to a 13 - 7 lead after one quarter of play.
By halftime the home team had built on their early edge to go into the break with a commanding 26 - 12 lead over the visiting St. Regis squad.
As the second half of the pre-season match up progressed, Plains remained firmly in control ending the third quarter with a 46 - 28 lead.
A spate of three-point shots by the visiting Tigers made things interesting in the beginning stages of the game’s final quarter but the Horsemen were able to maintain control of the friendly contest and ended the day with a 57 - 33 victory.
Cole, who handled the coaching duties for the home team on the night, was modest but positive about the team’s performance.
“At times the older kids executed really well tonight,” Cole said.
Cole noted many of the players had been at a football practice prior to the scrimmage and had shown no signs of fatigue and played effectively despite the warm temperatures.
The athletic director was also impressed with the youngest members of the team, next year’s freshmen, who showed initiative and potential in one of their first tastes of high school competition.
The scrimmage featured a fifth quarter of play to offer both sides a chance to get a little more practice before St. Regis made the trip back to Mineral County.
Once the fifth quarter came to a conclusion the Plains players were given an additional 20 minutes to shoot-around and match up against one another before calling it a night.