Broncos earn consecutive victories in recent games

After struggling to find consistency during the past four games, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos took the court last week and found their stride. The Broncos matched up against Springdale in a nonleague game, before hosting Reardan on Jan. 16 in Ritzville.

Head Coach Dustan Arlt said out of all the crossover games the Broncos had scheduled this season, he was the most nervous about the Springdale game. He knew Springdale would be a tough team, and playing on the road would prove difficult.

The Broncos played an earlier than normal game against the 1A school, and Arlt said the changes did not appear to be obstacles for the Broncos team. He believed if the team could get past Springdale, they would be in good shape for the upcoming league games.

The Broncos quickly earned a decisive lead during the match up on Jan. 15. The LRS squad jumped out to a 25-2 advantage by the end of the first quarter. The Broncos won the game with a final score of 59-35.

Arlt said when the two teams met up last year; Springdale had played a 1-3-1 zone. The Broncos scrimmaged in practice to break down the zone, and their effort carried over into the game.

At halftime, Springdale made adjustments and came out in a man defense. This allowed them to play a more balanced defense and gave the Broncos an opportunity to prove their athleticism.

Springdale also made the switch to a man defense after Jacob Saetre had a strong first half for the Broncos.

While Springdale worked to take away Saetre’s outside shots, the Broncos remained patient and worked the ball around for the open look. The Broncos’ focus allowed the team as a whole to put up strong shots and led to balanced scoring for the team.

Saetre led the team in scoring with 15 points, closely followed by Wyatt Roettger with 14. Dylan Becker and Alan Field each put up nine points for the Broncos.

Bryson Gering and Dallas Killian each added three points, followed by Bryce Esser with two. Nick Fleming hit a free throw for the Broncos.

Arlt said after multiple games of the Broncos losing the third quarter battle, he was pleased with the team’s performance to maintain intensity and continue the scoring advantage through the third quarter.

Overall, Arlt said he was pleased with the Broncos performance and their ability to work together as a team. After Killian got in foul trouble in the opening minutes of the game, Arlt said Esser played in his place and proved to be an asset for the team by bringing in multiple rebounds.

The LRS team did give up more offense rebounds than usual against Springdale, but Arlt was pleased with their effort. The Broncos stayed in a zone defense throughout the game in an effort to contain one of Springdale’s quickest guards, which led to less rebounds on the other end of the court.

Field and Becker stood out in rebounding from the guard positions, while Roettger assisted with rebounds in the key.

Arlt mentioned the Broncos played a strong first half defensively, as they forced 12 turnovers against Springdale and held the team to only 15 points in the half. The Broncos also limited Springdale’s field goal attempts and showed the team’s potential as all-around athletes.

After going on the road the day before, the Broncos looked forward to the opportunity of hosting league rival, the Reardan Indians. The Broncos maintained their momentum throughout the entire game in order to earn a 64-33 victory against the Indians.

Arlt said the Broncos had another strong start and finish in the first quarter, proving early they were the dominant team and wanted the league win.

While the Broncos did not start out the game hitting a lot of shots, two last minute 3-pointers from Saetre and Fleming gave the Broncos a 21-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Saetre recorded nine of his 15 total points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Reardan battled back and attempted to close the scoring gap. The Broncos still kept the upper hand, and led the Indians 34-18 at halftime.

Arlt said in the second half the Broncos slipped a little in containment defense, letting one of the Reardan guards get lose and hit key points for the Indians.

Arlt said the defense improved by the end of the quarter, and the Broncos felt they had a comfortable lead at half.

While the Broncos applied a full court press in the first half, the Broncos let up in the third quarter when they were able to hold Reardan scoreless. The Broncos went on a 30-1 scoring run in just over six minutes of play.

The Broncos defensive efforts created 30 turnovers for the Indians, while LRS only had eight turnovers during the game.

Arlt said throughout the game he was impressed by the Broncos’ focus and determination to play a consistent game. Even when the Broncos found themselves up 56-18, he explained the team played composed basketball and worked on ball rotation offensively.

Reardan stayed primarily in a man defense, but the Broncos were able to rotate the ball to get open looks on the court. Arlt said the Broncos did a good job sharing the ball and continually working through a rotation for an open look instead of forcing shots.

The Broncos ended the night shooting 26 for 59 from the field and hit eight three-point shots. The Broncos made 17 3-pointers during their two weekend games.

In the second half, Arlt said the team rotated a lot of athletes onto the court and Reardan was able to hit key points in the fourth during the transitions. Since Reardan does not have a lot of size, Arlt explained they had a hard time trying to contain the Broncos’ athleticism and taller players.

The Broncos also had multiple athletes step up to play aggressive games and keep possession for the Broncos.

Arlt said Becker hustled after loose balls and had a solid all-around performance on Saturday night. Becker and Esser each had four steals for the Broncos.

Roettger proved to be the thorn in Reardan’s side as he posted 25 points for the Broncos. Saetre added 15 for the team, and the two athletes posted nearly half of the Broncos score.

Fleming added six points for the Broncos, followed by Becker and Killian with four. Gering and Esser each had three points, and Carlos Vuilleumier and Field added two each.

The Broncos played a nonleague game against Connell on Jan. 19, and Arlt expected the game to be a solid match up for the LRS squad. The two teams faced each other during summer league basketball, and Arlt said both teams thrive off of quickness and being guard oriented.

The Broncos face three tough league games in the upcoming weeks. The Broncos face Wilbur-Creston on Friday, before hosting St. George’s on Saturday in Gilson Gym.

Next week, the Broncos have an opportunity to upset the league’s currently top-ranked team, Liberty.