Broncos win over Patriots, 53-48

By Sandy Anderberg

The Bronco varsity earned a big win over the Valley Patriots on the road last Tuesday night at 53-48. They shot solid from the bonus line at 68 percent, which gave them the edge they needed to get the win. They also hit four three-pointers from the offensive end in the win.

The Broncos jumped on the Patriots early to hold an eight-point lead after the first period of play. But cold shooting hindered the Broncos in the second quarter that allowed Valley to close the gap and trail by only one at the break. After a fairly even third quarter of play, the Broncos got aggressive and took back the lead from the Patriots in the final minutes of the game.

“We had a good fourth quarter and I was proud of the way we finished the game,” coach Brandt Lockhart said. “We also shot 17 for 22 from the line.”

Senior Cedrick McCampbell took charge of the scoring and put in 17 points. Junior Ceniceros and Bryce Grahn followed suit with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Chance Lockhart connected on seven, Colt Wood had four, and Charles Mason added two.

Grahn grabbed six rebounds and Wood had five. Lockhart had four assists and Grahn and Shadle each had three. Grahn and Wood finished with three and two steals respectively. Friday night, the Broncos picked up a game with Crowell and after playing a very physical game, fell short 43-55. The loss put the Broncos at 8-4 on the year.

The Broncos stayed fairly solid in the first half of play, despite struggling to make shots fall and only trailed by one at the break. Crowell made good on several attempts at the foul line and were able to pull away in the final period after opening up an eight-point lead after the third quarter. Mason led the Broncos with 14 points and three assists. Grahn helped with 12 points, four rebounds, and two steals and Lockhart had seven points. Wood grabbed five rebounds and put in five points while Ceniceros had four points and three assists. Taylon Knorpp put in one free-throw and the team shot seven for thirteen from the bonus line.

“We did not shoot the ball well,” Lockhart said.

The Broncos will play at Fritch January 2 and take on White Deer at home January 6.