Two wins rank Broncos as fourth seed for District Tournament

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos secured the fourth place finish in the south division of the NE 2B league, and earned their spot on the District Tournament bracket.

The Broncos earned league wins over Reardan and Tekoa-Rosalia to solidify being the fourth seed, but a loss to Asotin disrupted their goals for an undefeated week.

The team started the week on the road with a game against the Reardan Indians on Jan. 30.

After suffering tough losses to the league’s top teams in the two weeks prior, Head Coach Dustan Arlt said the Broncos thrived off of the 57-43 win over Reardan. The team came out prepared, grateful to have a balanced match up, and Arlt said the Broncos played with consistency to earn the win.

The Broncos jumped out to a 5-0 lead early in the game, and Arlt said the team succeeded in maintaining the five-point advantage throughout the majority of the game.

The Indians cut the lead as close as two before halftime, but the Broncos remained composed and quickly finished the half with a seven-point lead.

The third quarter brought about multiple calls in Reardan’s favor, Arlt said, and the Indians narrowed the Broncos lead to three points with two minutes left in the quarter.

Bryce Kelly and Shontz Yaeger drained a combined three 3-pointers to put the Broncos ahead, and Arlt said the team continued to play with intensity throughout the final quarter.

In the last five minutes of the game, the Broncos went on a 13-2 scoring drive and secured the league win. Arlt explained the final push for the Broncos showed the amount of intensity they are capable to playing with, and remaining composed helped them hold on to the scoring advantage throughout the game.

The Broncos still are focused on reducing turnovers, Arlt mentioned, as the team continued to give up the ball 17 times during the match up. The team continues to struggle with making smart decisions offensively, and added defensive pressure also attributed to the turnovers, Arlt said.

Reardan has not been a strong shooting team this season, Arlt explained, and the Broncos made sure to apply pressure. Reardan ended the night shooting 13 for 50, while the Broncos shot 22 for 45.

Throughout the game, the Indians remained in a man defense and allowed the Broncos open looks at the perimeter.

While the pressure gave the team trouble at times, Arlt said the Broncos were able to find unsuccessful match ups, which converted to points for the team.

Arlt said the Broncos were able to win the game because of balanced scoring throughout the team. The Broncos had five athletes record eight points or higher, and Arlt emphasized the team’s need to continue having balanced scoring in the post season.

Kelly led the team in scoring with 12 points and also brought down nine rebounds. Camden Smith recorded 11 points and nine rebounds.

Patrick Bartz and Yaeger each scored nine points, and Arlt said Yaeger posted his best game of the season with scoring, assists, steals and rebounds. David Ziebell also had a competitive game for the Broncos, earning eight points and bringing down six rebounds.

After the Tekoa-Rosalia game had to be postponed due to weather, the next game for the Broncos was against Asotin. The Broncos went on the road to face the Panthers, and while they remained competitive, Asotin earned a 65-51 victory over LRS.

Asotin has faced a tough season, Arlt explained, after losing their best athlete and suffering from poor shooting. Arlt said when the Broncos took the court; Asotin did not seem to have the same drive and aggression as they did in the teams’ first game.

At the end of the first quarter, the Broncos trailed by three, but Arlt said the team could have posted a stronger effort. Asotin struggled to get the ball through the hoop, and the Broncos also missed easy buckets.

Arlt said the Broncos stayed in the game and had an opportunity to earn a lead in the second quarter, but a bad turnover by LRS resulted in additional points for Asotin. The Broncos went into halftime trailing by four, 21-25.

The Panthers slowly widened the scoring gap in the third quarter, as the Broncos suffered from turnovers and battling against Asotin’s man defense. At the end of the third quarter, the Broncos trailed by six.

With four minutes left in the game, the Broncos found themselves trailing by seven points. Arlt said the team made a few big stops against Asotin, but could not convert on offense.

The Broncos missed four consecutive free throws, and the team struggled to keep tempo with the Panthers. After multiple turnovers, Asotin jumped out to their largest lead of the game in the final minute, before winning the game 65-51.

The LRS team ended the night with 26 turnovers and shooting 20-42 from the field.

Arlt said the Broncos struggled against the most experienced Asotin team in the second half, but showed their potential to compete with the Panthers. Moving into the post season, Arlt explained the Broncos need to take better care of the ball and become more patient when facing defensive pressure.

The Broncos hosted Tekoa-Rosalia in a rescheduled senior night game on Feb. 6. The Broncos took the court with a newfound intensity and took a 69-39 win from the Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves have been competitive with other teams in the league towards the end of the season, Arlt said, and the Broncos were surprised to jump out to an early 23-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

One thing that the Timberwolves did not account for was a strong perimeter shooting night for the Broncos.

In the first half, the Broncos sank 12 3-pointers against the Timberwolves’ zone defense. Arlt said he was surprised Tekoa-Rosalia did not adjust defensively to the perimeter shooting, but the Broncos used that to their advantage.

The first half proved to be the Broncos’ best half of the year, Arlt stated, and the team quickly jumped out to a 31-point lead.

Kelly helped secure the substantial lead by draining five 3-pointers during the game and racking up 17 points. The Broncos also benefitted by a buzzer-beater half court shot made by Yaeger moving into halftime.

The half court shot gave the Broncos another boost of intensity when they took the court in the second half, Arlt said. The Broncos played tough defense and contested nearly every shot the Timberwolves put up, leading to them shooting 15 for 62.

The Broncos also improved by reducing the total amount of turnovers, and the team only recorded one in the first half. They finished the game with 13 total turnovers and outrebounded the Timberwolves.

Bartz ended the night with 14 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, and Arlt said Bartz posted one of his best games of the season. Smith ended the night with nine points and 13 rebounds.

Yaeger also scored nine points, followed by Michael Shields with eight. Ziebell posted two points, but brought down 13 rebounds for the Broncos, and Arlt is looking for him to continue to be a force in the key for the team.

As the fourth seed in the south portion of the league, the Broncos faced number three seed Springdale on Feb. 7. Springdale has suffered from an inconsistent season, Arlt said, and the Broncos had to play focused basketball if they wanted the win.

Arlt said the focus for the team was to play better defense, and adjust to Springdale’s man defense. As long as the Broncos could reduce Springdale’s looks at the hoop, and take care of the ball, Arlt predicted the game to be winnable for the Broncos.

The Broncos faced Springdale at West Valley High School on Feb. 7. A loss will move them into competition on Feb. 11, while a win would move them on to play Colfax on Feb. 9.