Broncos win District Championship

By Sandy Anderberg

All season long, the Clarendon Broncos have dominated the other five district teams in every match up. Their solid play has paid off and the Broncos are the district champs this season. They have had a stellar season and are currently 24-2 and 9-0 in District.

The Broncos played two games last week and earned two big wins over Claude and Memphis. They easily defeated Claude at home at 90-27 and squeaked by Memphis on the road with a 43-41 final.

The Mustangs were never able to give the Broncos any competition, which allowed the Broncos to breeze to the win. Marshal Johnson finished with 18 points and Bear Smith added 11. Damarjae Cortez had six, Chance Lockhart added four, and Colt Wood and Bryce Grahn each put in two.

“We did a good job of moving the basketball and we shot the ball well,” coach Brandt Lockhart said. “We were able to cause turnovers and get easy points.” Five Broncos finished in double figures and the team hit seven three pointers and went five for seven from the bonus line.

Marshal Johnson was strong inside and finished with 21 points, and Damarjae Cortez helped with 19 hitting five big threes. Chance Lockhart had 18 total points, which included two three-pointers, and Bear Smith and Jacob Jeffers each added 10. Colt Wood put in eight and Keandre Cortez added four.

Lockhart also grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals. Johnson had eight rebounds, and Grahn helped with 11 assists and had four steals. Keandre Cortez had seven assists, three steals, and three deflections. Wood had three steals and three deflections, while D. Cortez had three steals and five deflections.

The game with Memphis was closer, but the Broncos came home with the big two-point win. The Broncos jumped out to the early, dominating lead, but the Cyclones worked their way back to only trail by one at the break. A slower shooting third quarter plagued the Broncos and the Cyclones were able to take advantage and take a two-point lead. But Clarendon was able to regroup in the final period of play and get the win.

“We played good defense, but had too many turnovers,” Lockhart said. “We did a good job of securing the win. We are district champions with the win and I am very proud of the hard work this team has put in all year.”

Johnson finished with 18 points, and Smith added 11. D. Cortez had six, Lockhart added four, and Wood and Grahn each put in two. Smith had seven rebounds, three assists and three deflections, while Johnson had six rebounds. Grahn had five steals and three deflections, and Lockhart had two assists.

The Broncos will be entering post-season play at a time to be announced.