Broncos capture fourth place trophy

A pair of wins at the WIAA 2B Hardwood Classic produced a fourth place trophy in the state championship tournament for the LRS Broncos and their roster of veteran players.

With a pack of seniors who have amassed a truckload of honors and wins in several sports, the Broncos overcame a first round loss to the eventual state champions, the Morton-White Pass Timberwolves, to defeat Northwest Christian and Mossyrock for the trophy.

The Broncos fell to MWP in the first round on Thursday, 73-56. Friday they responded by handling Northwest Christian, 55-44. With a win in their pocket, the Broncos turned around on Saturday morning and defeated Mossyrock, 69-60.

Saturday’s victory capped a season that saw 25 victories and the conclusion of some memorable careers.

“You can do this a lot of years and not win 25 games,” head coach Dustan Arlt said. “It was an excellent year. We had 11 playoff games in five weeks while battling everything else including mental and physical fatigue. To bounce back from MWP and win those last two games, have one of our best offensive games of the season and have those four seniors score in double figures, that’s pretty good.”

Two firsts occurred in the Mossyrock game: Ryan Whitmore had his first dunk of the season and Bridger Smith, coming off the bench, drained a deep three-point bucket.

The starting seniors combined for 52 of the team’s 69 points. Tyler Frederick sank 14 points and Connor O’Neill had 13. Dylan Hartz and Whitmore turned in 12-point scoring efforts.

Kyle Canaday added six points, Cort Ruzicka had four and Jacob Saetre and Smith each scored three. Wyatt Roettger had two points.

The game’s first quarter was a horse race as the teams traded baskets and the Broncos held a 19-18 edge. The second quarter the Broncos won 15-12 for a 34-30 lead at the break. It was the play in the third quarter that broke the game open, as LRS rolled to a 17-9 advantage in that period. Mossyrock battled in the fourth quarter and won the points effort, 21-18, but didn’t have the gas to overtake LRS.

Friday’s contest with Northwest Christian was a must-win situation as both teams had first round tournament loses.

“We absolutely needed a win,” Arlt said. “It’s a team that we are better than. But when you play a team that many times, I knew there wasn’t going to be any surprises. It was a game for runs for each team.”

The first quarter was a dead heat as the teams both scored 11 points. The Broncos took a first half edge with a 10-6 effort for a 21-17 lead at the half.

In the third quarter, NWC posted a 19-9 advantage. It was the wake-up call the Broncos needed to go on a run. They would outscore NWC 25-8 in the fourth quarter. The Crusaders were in foul trouble and had just one timeout remaining in the final three minutes of play.

Hartz and Whitmore led the Broncos in scoring with 13 points. Ruzicka scored 10 for the day. Canaday kicked in eight points.

Frederick and O’Neill each scored four, and Saetre had three.

The opening round battle with MWP was a struggle from the beginning. The guard oriented Timberwolves raced out in front with a 14-7 first quarter effort and captured a 43-26 lead at the end of the half.

LRS turned in an 18-11 effort in the third quarter, but couldn’t gain enough momentum to take the lead. They were outscored 19-12 in the fourth.

Arlt said the first three minutes of the game were key. The Broncos held MWP scoreless, but couldn’t capitalize on free throws, a lay-in and open looks on their side of the court.

Hartz paced the Broncos with 27 points. O’Neill delivered 12 points. Whitmore scored eight and Canaday had six. Saetre scored two and Ruzicka finished with one point.

“We should have been up by six or eight points in the first quarter. I think that was deflating,” Arlt said. “We let them hang around and then they got hot.”o