The Glasgow boys’ basketball team had a nearly flawless finish in the opening round of the Chopped Lawn Holiday Classic, using a late surge to take down Muhlenberg County 76-65 on Monday at South Warren High School.

Glasgow (5-4) took control for good early in the fourth quarter, breaking it open in the final minutes to give Muhlenberg County its first loss of the season.

“I thought we picked it up a little bit defensively,” Glasgow coach Brandon Stockton said. “In the first half we were scoring the ball, but we were also giving up some easy buckets. We were a step slow here, a step slow there, but in the second half we picked it up towards the end – made some buckets and got some stops. Ultimately just kind of wore them out.”

The two teams were locked in a back-and-forth struggle the first three quarters.

Muhlenberg County (7-1) jumped out to a 12-5 lead early, but a pair of 3-pointers from Jackson Norris late in the first helped push the Scotties in front 22-19.

Trace England opened the second quarter with a 3 to extend the lead to six before the Mustangs used a 10-2 run to briefly regain the advantage midway through the second. Glasgow got the lead back with five straight points, but Muhlenberg County got a layup in the final minute to tie the score 34-34 at halftime.

The lead volleyed back and forth eight times in the third quarter, with two free throws from Jaylen Bradley finally giving Glasgow a 49-48 advantage heading into the fourth.

Bradley opened the final period with a drive to the basket and a 3 to extend the margin to 54-48. Glasgow continued to extend the lead, getting to the basket with some easy looks and strong finishes. The clinching blow came midway through the fourth, with a steal and layup by Jerrick Martin capping a 9-0 run that gave the Scotties a 67-54 lead. Muhlenberg County was unable to get closer than eight the rest of the way.

“It feels really good,” Martin said. “They are a really good team. We knew that coming in. We prepared for them throughout the week. Coaches told us to go out there and have fun because we are just as good of a team as they are. We came in today and proved that we can make a lot of noise.”

Bradley, who had a game-high 23 points, was one of four Scotties to finish in double figures. Norris and Landon Minton finished with 16 points each, while Martin added 13 points.

Glasgow shot 59% from the field for the game, including 22-for-29 from 2-point range.

“When a team is making 3s, it makes the defense wonder about the help side,” Stockton said. “We made some shots early and in the second half it just kind of opened the lane for us. I’ve got some really good athletes. We started getting downhill and once they get downhill we are pretty hard to guard.”

Glasgow was unable to advance to the finals, falling to Beech (Tenn.) 69-59 in Monday’s semifinal round. Bradley led the Scotties with 23 while Martin added 12 in the loss.

The Scotties were scheduled to face Todd County Central in the third-place game, but were instead awarded the win after a Todd County forfeit.

Glasgow returns to action on Jan. 2, hosting Allen County-Scottsville.

GHS 22 12 15 27 – 76

MCHS 19 15 14 17 – 65

GHS – Bradley 23, Norris 16, Minton 16, Martin 13, Moore 5, England 3.

MC – Morris 18, Groves 16, Sparks 9, Noffsinger 9, Coats 5, Woodruff 4, Murphy 2, Saye 2.