Wheelchair basketball dominates ‘Boro Shootout

Edinboro’s wheelchair basketball team defended its title as champions of the ‘Boro Shootout, going undefeated in all seven games of the two-day tournament held Saturday and Sunday in McComb Fieldhouse. 

The Fighting Scots dominated most of the tournament. They started out with a strong game against Sportable, a 70-25 win. Jacob Spillers, a freshman, led the team in points in his first game with 22. Sportable is CorRales Dupree’s old team. Dupree is now a Fighting Scot.  

“That was awesome. It was really cool getting to play against them at home, on the main stage and stuff, and seeing some of the younger players. They have grown...kind of reminded me of myself when I started playing,” Dupree said of his old team. He had 14 points in the win. 

Edinboro then continued their win streak, taking the win over Brooklyn, 60-27. They then finished their first day with a win against the Charlottesville Cardinals, 59-36. The captain of the Cardinals, Brandon Rush, is a ‘Boro alum.

Most of the team saw playing time. 

“[I was] getting everybody playing time to help them grow, but to also help the team and some of the starters rest so they’re not burnt [out] by the end of the weekend or for next weekend,” Head Wheelchair Basketball Coach Jim Glatch said.

Glatch was pleased with how the team competed on the first day of the tournament. 

“It went how we hoped. The guys played tough all day,” Glatch added. “We were really focused in on our defense and transition game. There’s still some work to be done there, but it progressed all day long.”

The Fighting Scots played London to start off the second day, where they continued to dominate with a 58-34 win.

They then finished their scheduled games, first against Rochester where Kevin Atherley scored his 1,000th point of his career at Edinboro. Atherley scored 12 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in the win.  

Edinboro, undefeated in the tournament, moved on to the semifinal game where they played Sportable again. The Scots won the game 59-25.

The Scots then faced off against the Cardinals, who beat the London Flyers in their semifinal match, in the championship game. The Cardinals gave ‘Boro a more competitive game than their first, especially when they pulled out to a lead early in the game.

The Scots led at the half, 26-14, but the Cardinals would continue to push back. Edinboro typically kept the Cardinals to at least a 10-point deficit in the second half, but Charlottesville would score more in the last couple minutes as ‘Boro wasted some time and possessions. The game ended at 45-37.

Atherley played a major part in this game, as well as the tournament, scoring 17 points and getting 22 out of Edinboro’s 39 rebounds in the final.

“Whenever you’re competing and you come out and dominate, sometimes you get relaxed and lazy out there,” Atherley said. “I think we started this game thinking that we already won, and we had a wake-up call, which we needed. We went into the huddle and coach just reminded us that this is only the beginning and don’t take advantage of teams that are less good than we are. So I think we just came out and went back to the fundamentals.”

“This is our second year in a row being the champions of the ‘Boro Shootout, so I couldn’t have asked for a better turnout,” Dupree said after the championship game. “I was just happy to be here with my team and compete all weekend. Some of my family got to come up, too, and some of my friends I got to play against from home...so it was an awesome experience.”

Spillers had an impressive debut for the Scots, leading the team in points in his first game and two others in the tournament. Atherley led the team in points twice and led in rebounds.

The team plays in the Wisconsin-Whitewater Tournament Friday and Saturday. 

Erica Burkholder can be reached at sports.spectator@gmail.com.

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