Broncos basketball drops pair of league games

It was a tough weekend for the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos basketball team, as they dropped a pair of league games to fall to 2-5 in league play and 6-10 overall on the season.

The Broncos started their weekend on the road in Spangle on Jan. 18 as they took on the Liberty Lancers. LRS trailed by nine points at halftime and by 15 points after three quarters before outscoring Liberty 20-14 in the fourth quarter to lose by a score of 63-54.

Sophomore Drew Kelly had a game-high 17 points to lead all scorers. Juniors Spencer Gering and Austin Thompson also finished with double figures in scoring, scoring 15 and 14 points, respectively. The rest of the Broncos combined to score just eight points in the game, with no other player scoring more than two points. The 54 points scored by LRS was the most they’ve scored in a loss all season, and more than they’d scored in two of their six wins.

“[Liberty] is a tough matchup for us, just because of their size, and they also have some quickness, too,” said head coach Dustan Arlt. “So it’s tough [to play defense] in either man or zone.”

Arlt credited senior Shontz Yaeger for giving the team a spark in the game, not necessarily for his scoring but for his hustle, work on the defensive end of the court and for creating offensive opportunities for his teammates.

LRS took on the Colfax Bulldogs the next day at home in the Gilson Gymnasium. The Broncos trailed by 11 points at halftime and 23 points after the third quarter, ultimately losing 56-37. Arlt said that he thought the game should have been closer at halftime, but that the Broncos gave up 8-10 points to the Bulldogs due to giving up offensive rebounds.

Junior Cole Cameron led the Broncos in scoring with 10 points. Bryce and Drew Kelly each scored six points in the game, while Thompson finished with five points. The 37 points scored by the Broncos was the fewest they’ve scored in a league game since Dec. 14, when they fell to the same Bulldogs squad 42-36.

“Against these better teams, we just can’t have those quarters or lulls where we just have trouble putting the ball in the basket and then get down too much,” said Arlt. “If we can find a way to continue to score and put four quarters together and not put so much pressure on us to come back from 10 or 15 points, we can probably get over the hump.”

There are just four games left in the regular season for the Broncos, with three of those games being league matchups. LRS took on the Northwest Christian Crusaders on Jan. 22 at home in the final non-league game of the season.

The Broncos have two more league games this weekend, the first being a road matchup against the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves on Jan. 25 in Tekoa. The Broncos got the better of the Timberwolves in the first game between the teams on Jan. 11, winning 78-47. LRS would hold the season tiebreaker over Tekoa-Rosalia if they were to win this weekend’s tilt. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

LRS then plays host to the Asotin Panthers on Jan. 26 in the Gilson Gymnasium. The Broncos traveled to Asotin in the first meeting between the teams this season on Jan. 12, falling to the Panthers 51-41 in that game. LRS and Asotin are currently tied in the league standings, and a Broncos win would prevent Asotin from owning the tiebreaker over LRS.

“This weekend’s huge,” said Arlt, who believes his team can go 3-0 in their final league games and possibly finish in third place in the league heading into the Northeast 2B Conference playoffs. “They’re huge games and they’re both winnable.”