Broncos continue competition with 3-0 league record

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos continued their successful league season by defeating Tekoa-Rosalia in Gilson Gym on Dec. 19.

The Broncos established a 3-0 league record after the Saturday game, and now hold a 3-2 record overall this season.

The first half started out slow for the Broncos and the team worked to find unity on the court. The team’s intensity level spiked in the second half and allowed the Broncos to walk away with a 62-41 victory.

Head Coach Dustan Arlt said he is feeling good about where the Broncos are in competition right now. The team’s goal is to win their half of the league and Arlt said the team is well on their way to accomplishing that task.

On Saturday night, the Broncos struggled to find their rhythm on the court and Arlt said the team will need to continue to improve at maintaining a strong intensity level from the beginning of the game. With some of the more dominate teams in the league, the team may not always have an opportunity to come back to earn an advantage and the victory.

Arlt said the team also could have struggled in the beginning of the game because of the school closure the day prior. The team did not have an opportunity to have a typical practice before facing Tekoa-Rosalia and it seemed to show.

Wyatt Roettger stepped up to lead the Broncos throughout the entire game, but carried the team heavily in scoring in the first half. The Broncos went into halftime with a 36-23 advantage, and Roettger added 20 of those points to the scoreboard.

Besides Roettger’s performance, Arlt said the team applied a press in the second quarter to help the Broncos gain a scoring advantage.

The team continued to press into the third quarter and were able to force steals and earn breakaway points.

The Broncos held the Timberwolves to three points in the third quarter. The LRS squad posted 22 points during the quarter.

At the beginning of the game, the Broncos focused on a man defense, but high screens allowed the Timberwolves open looks at the hoop. The team rotated into a zone defense, having increased success on the court, and kept the team out of foul trouble.

Collectively as a team, the Broncos significantly outperformed Tekoa-Rosalia in the second half. The team worked together to force turnovers while spreading the court to provide multiple athletes with scoring opportunities.

The Broncos forced nearly 15 turnovers against the Timberwolves. Roettger, Jacob Saetre and Alan Field each had four steals during the game.

On the night, the Broncos only gave up six rebounds and totaled 13 offensive rebounds. Arlt said the team still needs to improve on crashing the boards, but he is satisfied with the improvements the team has made in rebounding this season.

The Broncos are continually led in rebounding by Roettger and Dylan Becker. Arlt said Becker is one of the Broncos more aggressive rebounders and is constantly crashing the boards to earn rebounds for the LRS team.

Roettger ended the night with nine rebounds, while Becker added six and Field had five rebounds.

The Broncos were led in scoring by Roettger with 26, followed by Saetre with 14. Becker added seven points, while Field and Bryson Gering each had six points.

Individually, the Broncos have skills that benefit the team as a whole. Arlt said the team is still working on rounding out the skill level of the teams and improving on having each athlete develop balanced and consistent abilities.

As the team moves on into the next round of games, Arlt said he is looking for the Broncos to move more on offense and increase ball movement on the court. Arlt said sometimes the team can be plagued by hesitant decisions and he hopes the team will improve on making quicker decisions, including going in for rebounds.

While the Broncos have not earned many opportunities at the foul line this season, Arlt said the team needs to remain focused on making free throws. In games down the road where the outcome could come down to the difference in free throws, the Broncos need to be successful at the foul line.

The Broncos met Freeman in a nonleague competition on Dec. 22 and Arlt expected a tough battle against the 1A school. The team has a lot of returning athletes and Arlt said it will serve as a good opportunity for the Broncos to play against a competitive team.

Arlt said while the Freeman team has a size advantage and is fairly athletic, Arlt said he believes if the team played physically and handled their athleticism, the Broncos could earn the on the road advantage.

The Broncos will return to the court after Christmas to play Odessa-Harrington on Dec. 29 in Ritzville at 7:30 p.m.

After the start of the New Year, the Broncos will switch game times with the Lady Broncos and varsity games for the Broncos will begin at 6 p.m.