Scotland Come Out on Top in Celtic Clash 2017 - Hoopsfix.com

Scotland Come Out on Top in Celtic Clash 2017

Kieron Achara Scotland

Scotland Senior men’s side came out winners of the inaugural Celtic Clash, as they made their case for a spot at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018.

“(It was a) Great opportunity more than anything to have our players come together, on short notice with players coming in from America, England and Europe to join our Glasgow Rocks core,” said Scotland Head Coach Erik Olson.

“The mix of veteran players and newcomers (Eddie Mathew and Skyler White who wore Scotland jerseys for the first time) was a fun challenge to work towards being a fluid group in a 2 week window.

“Very happy with the mindset the players came to camp with, but mostly how the veteran players set the example and really laid out the expectations and objectives of the group; which is to establish the style we want to play, the mindset with which we want within Scotland basketball, and ultimately lay the groundwork and foundation for our Commonwealth Games push.

“Regardless of who we are meant to play, our job was to establish that we are a strong side committed to bigger things and I am happy with the way we competed and ultimately, played together as a group of 13 players over the weekend.

“Ireland and wales deserve so much credit, to come over and take up the challenge and I wish to thank them both for bringing the competitive nature to the Celtic Clash.”

Scotland v Ireland

Scotland opened the weekend tournament with a convincing 82-58 success against Ireland at Oriam.

GB captain Kieron Achara led the way with 23 points and nine rebounds with Ali Fraser adding 21 points along with nine boards himself with both players handing out three assists.


BBL duo Eddie Matthew and Jonny Bunyan added eight points apiece with Bunyan also contributing eight assists in the win, with former GB U20 Fraser Malcolm finishing with a 3-9-6 stat-line.

The hosts made a strong start and opened up a commanding 20-point advantage by half-time with Achara already up to 17 points.

Ireland lost the second half by just four points in a valiant finish with Ciaran O’Sullivan scoring 15 points in defeat.

Box score.

Ireland v Wales

Ireland bounced back from Friday’s defeat with a dominant 85-55 win over Wales.

Lorcan Murphy top scored with 18 points, while Adrian O’Sullivan and Cian Nihill provided valuable support with 17 points apiece.

Ireland established a double-digit advantage at 22-12 after the first and never looked back, outscoring their opponents in every quarter.

Wales were paced by James Dawe’s game-high of 19 points with Jamie Rodwell posting a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Box score.

Scotland v Wales

Scotland rounded out the Celtic Clash with a comfortable 108-44 victory over Wales on Sunday.

Ali Fraser led a balanced scoring effort with 18 points and 10 rebounds, as all of Scotland’s roster saw double digit minutes. Skyler White added 17 points, Lee Reilly had 14, whilst Fraser Malcolm and Eddie Matthew added 11 a-piece.

Scotland knocked down 7 triples in the first quarter and registered 30 assists for the game to seal the tournament win.

Wales were led by 9 points from Gareth Williams.

Box score.

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