Broncos win bi-district title

By Sandy Anderberg

The Clarendon Bronco basketball team has had a great season, but it came to abrupt end in Littlefield last Friday against a good Panhandle team.

The game went into overtime, and the Broncos were defeated 56-62 in a game that was nip and tuck all the way.

The Broncos played hard from beginning to end and had a great strategy going in. They held a two-point lead after one, but the Panthers took over in the second quarter taking a two-point lead into the break. The Broncos refocused and put themselves in a great spot with only eight minutes remaining with a three-point lead. A few missed shots down the stretch hurt the Broncos and Panhandle was able to force extra minutes.

The Broncos did all they could do in the OT period, but were unable to stop the Panthers.

Bryce Grahn led the Broncos on the scoreboard with 16 points. Junior Ceniceros finished with 15, Marshal Johnson had 12, Chance Lockhart put in 11, and Colt Wood had two. Grahn had five rebounds and three steals, Lockhart had four assists and Ceniceros helped with three. Johnson had five rebounds and Wood grabbed two steals.

“We played a good game against a good team,” coach Brandt Lockhart said. “We played with great effort from beginning to end.”

The Broncos did have a great season, which ended too soon for players and fans. However, the Broncos had a lot of successes during their season that included a big win over Panhandle in a tournament.

“We finished the season with two tournament wins and a Bi-District Championship,” Lockhart said.

Lockhart was also pleased with the effort by the two seniors on the team. Junior Ceniceros and Chesson Sims fought hard with the Broncos all year.

“I appreciate the work that Chesson and Junior put in in their four years,” he said. “I also appreciate the senior trainers, Shelby Baxter, Kendra Davis, Alysse Simpson, and Josh Solis. The Broncos finished the season with a record of 25-7.”

Earlier in the week, the Broncos claimed the Bi-District Title in Amarillo when they soundly defeated the Gruver Greyhounds, 71-47.

The Broncos totally dominated the Greyhounds and stifled everything they tried to do. The Broncos led by no less than 16 points most of the game. Grahn and Ceniceros put in 28 points each, Lockhart added 26, Johnson had 24, Sims helped with 14, and Damarjae put in 10. Wood had eight, and Keandre Cortez had four.

Grahn had 24 rebounds for a double-double, eight assists and six steals. Lockhart had 18 rebounds and 12 assists for another double-double. Johnson grabbed 11 rebounds and Sims had nine. D. Cortez also added four steals on defense.

“I thought we played great defense,” Lockhart said. “We were able to hold them to 14 points the first half. We finished the game with five guys nine points or better and we also dominated the boards.”