Broncos match win total from last season with league sweep

Brandon Cline, Managing Editor | Last updated Jan 08, 2020 5:12pm0

Brandon Cline/The Ritzville Journal count

Senior guard Austin Thompson drives to the basket in the Broncos' 67-49 home league win against Asotin on Jan. 3. Thompson finished the game with 19 points.

What a difference a year can make for the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos basketball program.

Just one year removed from a season where the team went 8-15 with an early exit in the conference tournament, the Broncos matched last season's win total with a 43-31 win in Reardan over the weekend, which followed a 67-49 home victory over Asotin the day before.

Offensively, the Broncos were led by the same trio of players in both games; seniors Austin Thompson and Spencer Gering, and junior Drew Kelly. Of the 110 points that the team scored in the two wins, the three combined to score 97 of those points for LRS.

With the victory over Reardan, LRS picked up their eighth win on Jan. 4. Last season, the Broncos didn't pick up its eighth--and final--win of the season until Feb. 5. So what's been the cause of this resurgence?

Simply put, the team is scoring more and allowing fewer points than a year ago, by a wide margin. In the 2018-19 season, the Broncos averaged 49.8 points per game while allowing 51 points per game. This season, through the first 11 games, LRS is scoring an average of 57.7 points per game and allowing just 41.8 points per game, a swing of +17.1 points.

The team has done it with efficiency from inside the paint this season. On two-point attempts, the Broncos are making 55% of their shots, while the team's opponents are making just 32% of their two-pointers. LRS is also shooting much better at the free throw line so far this season, making 65% of their free throw attempts, about 10-15% better from last season.

For Arlt, the biggest difference he's seen between this year's team and last year's team is the chemistry and unselfishness that the players have had together.

Up next, the Broncos have a non-league home game against Tri-Cities Prep on Jan. 10 at the Gilson Gym, followed by a road game against the Colfax Bulldogs (7-3 overall, 2-1 in league play) on Jan. 11. A road win this weekend against Colfax would prove to Arlt that his team is ready to take the next step.

"I'm excited for this weekend and to see if we can still keep making that jump," Arlt said. "If we can go down and beat Colfax, especially, to get to 5-1 in league play through the first half, we'd be sitting pretty good for a top-two spot."