Broncos vs St. George’s in sub regional showdown

Friday the LRS Broncos will set out to do something no one else has done this season – defeat the St. George’s Dragons in the semi final showdown of the sub regional tournament in Walla Walla.

The Dragons are 23-1, having lost to 2A Pullman, 55-54 earlier in the season. They come into Friday’s game favored to win the 2B state basketball title.

During the district tournament, Colfax came closer than any league opponent has to defeating the Dragons. They pulled within four points in the fourth quarter before coming up just short.

“If we can just shoot the ball to our capability,” head coach Dustan Arlt said. “The first two times we played them we shot under 50 percent from the free throw line. We have got to keep it close early. It would be nice to play with a little lead for once. They have four really good players and all of their players are pretty versatile.”

The 6-foot-6-inch Dexter Sienko anchors the team from the post position and leads in scoring and rebounds. He will give the Broncos’ post players fits while they scramble to contain him.

“We give away a little size and strength. Each of our guards have to shut down their guy and Tyler (Frederick) and Ryan (Whitmore) have to score something down low,” Arlt said. “If we can score 55 to 60 points then we have a chance because it is pretty tough to hold them under 50 points. It’s a big game. Obviously they are favored. But, we have the offense to do it.”

The Broncos find themselves in the semi final game after handing District 9 Asotin an 80-57 loss on Saturday, Feb. 9. Connor O’Neill and Frederick turned in stellar performances, leading the team scoring. O’Neill was the top producer with 21 points and Frederick delivered 19.

The Broncos took a 14-2 lead in the first quarter and were rolling quickly, but Asotin rebounded and at the end of the first period LRS was up 25-17. Asotin kept the pressure up in the second quarter and won the period, 15-14 as the Broncos went into the half with a 39-32 lead.

“We had a double digit lead and then they finished the first quarter pretty strong,” Arlt said. “In the fourth quarter we played like we did in the first, but we played better defense too.”

The Broncos outscored Asotin 22-9 in the fourth.

Whitmore became the early target of the referees, collecting three fouls right away. He earned two in the first quarter and then his third just one minute into the second stanza. The Broncos post players appeared to be sideways of the officials. When Cort Ruzicka came in to relive Whitmore in the second quarter, he fouled twice in two minutes.

“It’s a good thing we answered them whenever they scored against us,” Arlt said.

Even though Whitmore played 10 minutes or less before fouling out in the fourth quarter, he managed to record four blocks as the Broncos showed flashes of greatness on defense.

On the offensive side of things, O’Neill and Frederick both finished the night shooting nine of 14 from the field. O’Neill was three for three from behind the three-point line.

“It was great to see him shoot from the outside,” Arlt said. “Everyone thinks our leading scorer is going to be Dylan (Hartz), but on any given night it can be Colby Starring, Frederick or Connor.”

The Broncos had a great practice prior to Saturday’s game, and Arlt said they were full of energy and charged up for the outing.

“Saturday we played about as well as ever, we passed the ball really well,” he said. “They were as fresh and as energized as I’ve seen them.”

Hartz finished the game with 11 points, 13 assists and three steals. O’Neill had four assists and four steals. Frederick hauled in eight rebounds.

Bridger Smith scored three in the game. Ruzicka had seven points. Starring collected six points while Kyle Canaday scored four. Whitmore had three points an Jarradd Morley, Jacob Anderson and Jacob Saetre each scored two.

The Broncos need some luck and all of their weapons on Friday. Arlt likes the team’s chances if all the pieces fall into place.

“It comes down to who’s going to make shots,” he said. “The team that gets hot is probably the team that’s going to win.”

A LRS victory will set up a Saturday night sub regional championship game against the winner of the Colfax and Northwest Christian contest. If the Broncos lose on Friday they will move into the consolation bracket and meet the winner of DeSales versus Walla Walla Valley Academy at 4 p.m. at Whitman College.