District Tournament games are nail biters for Broncos

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos remain determined to stay in the District Tournament, and managed to continue into the second week of competition by splitting the first two games.

The Broncos suffered a tough loss to Springdale at the start of the tournament, before battling against Wilbur-Creston to earn a necessary win.

In the double-elimination tournament, only the top three teams will advance into the Regional Tournament. This is a new system for the 2B division, and there will not be a Sub-Regional Tournament, due to the adjustment of teams moving on from Districts.

The Broncos began the tournament at West Valley High School against Springdale. The two teams stayed neck-in-neck throughout the game, and it resulted in a one-point loss for the Broncos: 51-52.

Head Coach Dustan Arlt said the Broncos faltered on defense to start the game, and had multiple lapses in defensive pressure.

The Broncos’ poor defense led to Springdale jumping out to a 6-0 advantage, and left the Broncos trying to play catch up for the remainder of the game.

The slow start to the game served as a disappointment for Arlt, as the team had focused on defense in practice and knew they needed to shut down the Chargers ability to attack the basket if they wanted to earn the win.

Arlt said the Broncos recovered midway through the quarter and continued to work towards earning the lead. In the second quarter, the Broncos led 20-15, and while they managed to stop the Springdale offense, both teams struggled to hit shots and the score remained stagnant for nearly three minutes of game time.

The Broncos continued to step up the intensity in the second half, and worked to earn a four point lead. Arlt said the Broncos played well to the end, but the fourth quarter proved to be the determining factor in the game.

With a few minutes remaining, the Broncos missed a lay-in, and Springdale took the ball back and converted the possession to a three-point play. Arlt said the mistake was the turning point for the Broncos, and Springdale quickly took back the lead and stretched it to eight points.

The Broncos implemented a full court press in hopes to earning a steal or stopping the Springdale offense. Arlt said the Chargers broke through the Broncos defense, and had a 51-40 lead with two minutes remaining.

The LRS team continued to chip away at the score with two key 3-pointers by Bryce Kelly and a lay-in by Spencer Gering.

The Broncos found themselves down by three with seven seconds left, and a Springdale athlete at the line.

A missed free throw and foul gave the Chargers another attempt to widen the score, and they pushed it to a four-point game. With only seconds left, the Broncos came down the floor and kicked the ball to Kelly, who drained a three at the buzzer.

The Broncos came up one point short of tying the game, but Arlt said the team played determined basketball in the final minutes, but fell short of the win because of mistakes earlier in the night.

Arlt explained the Chargers had the size, experience and physicality advantages, and it showed against the young Broncos team. The Broncos did have a season low of eight turnovers, and rebounded well, but Arlt said the Chargers ability to attack the hoop and get to the line proved to turn the tempo of the game for the LRS team.

Kelly had a successful night, hitting six 3-pointers to earn his 18 points. He ended the night shooting 6 of 13 from the perimeter.

Camden Smith remained a force on the court for the Broncos, scoring 14 points and bringing down eight rebounds. Arlt said the team needed one more athlete to step up to contribute to scoring, and the lack of three strong shooters resulted in the marginal loss for the Broncos.

The Broncos moved into the second game of the tournament against Wilbur-Creston on Saturday. The LRS team was determined to earn a win, and were motivated by the loss to the Wildcats in January.

Arlt explained the Wildcats are a more experienced team, primarily comprised of upper classmen. The Broncos knew they needed to limit Wilbur-Creston’s rebounding, and play tight defense to restrict open looks at the hoop.

LRS had a three-point lead in the first, and they held the Wildcats scoreless for nearly half of the quarter. Arlt said unfortunately the Broncos also struggled to convert on offense and the momentum began to swing in favor of the Wildcats.

Late in the second quarter, the Broncos trailed Wilbur-Creston 10-21. Arlt explained the team battled to make stops and with 1:30 remaining until halftime, David Ziebell made a steal and took the ball back for a lay-in and two points for the Broncos.

The shift in tempo allowed the Broncos to narrow the Wildcats’ lead to six going into the half, and Arlt said the team fed off of the intensity into the second half.

Smith hit consecutive buckets for the Broncos and the teams entered into a one point difference in scoring. From there, Arlt said the teams remained locked in battle, with neither team earning more than a two point advantage for the remainder of the game.

The fourth quarter had moments of mistakes for the Broncos, as they missed multiple lay-ins and allowed the Wildcats to remain close in scoring.

LRS gave Wilbur-Creston additional opportunities to score by sending them to the line, where they shot 9-12 in free throws in the second half alone.

With less than two minutes to go, the Wildcats had a two-point lead over the Broncos. Kelly drained another crucial three for the Broncos, and the team led by one.

The Broncos were able to earn a stop, and a hustle play by Smith led to a change in possession. They continued to work together as a team, and remaining aggressive on both ends of the court allowed the LRS team to hold on to the late game scoring advantage.

Arlt said the game ended in favor of the Broncos because of their strong man-to-man defense and ability to force turnovers. The only factor allowing the Wildcats to stay in the game was free throws, Arlt explained, but the Broncos remained determined to outscore their opponents and remain in the tournament.

The strong defensive effort allowed the Broncos to hold the Wildcats’ main post player to three points, due to strong defense by Ziebell and Michael Shields, as well as help-side defense from Kelly and Smith. The Broncos earned a 37-34 victory, and remain in the tournament.

Kelly continued to be a scoring threat on the court, and earned 12 points for the Broncos. He also ended the night with seven rebounds and three steals.

Arlt said the team continued to look to Smith to help on both ends of the court, and Smith posted five points and nine rebounds.

Patrick Bartz had a consistent game for the team, earning five rebounds, six assists and four steals, in addition to his 10 points.

The Broncos move on to face Davenport on Feb. 15, and have to earn a win to remain in the tournament. The winner will advance to play either Northwest Christian or Colfax.

Arlt said the team is focused on earning an upset against Davenport in order to continue in Districts and have an opportunity to play a top league team again. Arlt explained the Broncos want to be able to use the tournament games as a measurement for how far the team has come since the beginning of the season.

He added the team is also focused on making up for the loss against Davenport earlier this season.