Basketball teams hit a wall

SPORTS SHORTS
by Scott Boyle

It’s baseball, softball, and track time for Bronco and Lady Buckaroo basketball teams after losing in their respective state tournaments last week. 

The first to end their season somewhat unexpectedly were the Lady Buckaroos, who took high expectations to the 1A state tournament in Richfield, only to be undone by one low scoring quarter in each game.

After winning their final season game against Green River to forge a first place region tie, the Lady Buckaroos won the coin toss to capture the number one seed from the region and faced the number three seed Altamont Longhorns. 

The Longhorns had wins over San Juan and Whitehorse earlier in the season, but recently had recorded a loss to Green River that gave the Lee Chadwicks forces hopes.  But it was not to be as the Lady Buckaroos started the game hot, but soon turned cold and couldn’t get the ball to go in the hoop. 

After forging a 9-4 lead after one quarter, the Lady Buckaroos only scored four points in the second while Altamont racked up 19 to take a lead they never relinquished, recording a 46-35 loss onto the Bucks. 

Swayzi Slade led the Lady Buckaroos with 16 points.  Dropped into the consolation bracket, the determined gals from Monticello jumped on St. Joes early, forging a 16-9 lead at one point before going cold again and before they knew it, they were down 39-25 with just four minutes left in the game. 

It didn’t help when senior Kendyl Boyd left the game injuring her knee.  But led by Slade, Abby Chadwick and Martha Beh, all of whom will be back next year, the Buckaroos staged a furious rally, closing within two points by the end of the game.

However, when a Chadwick three point try fell short with just seconds remaining, so had the Buckaroo rally and their season, 42-39. 

The Lady Buckaroos ended the season with a 9-10 record and great expectations for next year.

Lady Raiders
The Lady Raiders of Whitehorse saw their great season end after going 1-2 at the 1A tournament.  The 17-6 Raiders won their first game over the Milford Tigers, 47-43, before dropping consecutive contests to the Rich Rebels 53-34, and 50-47 to Intermountain Christian in two overtimes.  Maray Filfred led the Lady Raiders with 49 points in the three contests.

Broncos
Next to end the season were the San Juan Lady Broncos, who fell in the infamous annual 2A sudden death play-out game. 

Can you tell I don’t like the play-out format?  The Lady Broncos entered the play-in game against Kanab having won six of eight games and were playing well.  Starting slow, the third-seeded Lady Broncos fell behind to the third-seeded Lady Cowboys by 10 after the first quarter, but slowly and patiently worked their way back to get within five points by the fourth quarter. 

But the schoolgirls from Kanab put the clamps on and pulled away to a 49-38 win, ending the 9-13 Lady Broncos season once again in sudden death. 

Jolene Kirk kept the Lady Broncos in the game with 13 points while Kelsi Meyer added 11. 

Finally, the San Juan Broncos of coach Ryan Nielson, whose season ended once again in play-out fashion.  Really, isn’t there a better way to conduct the tournament than send the teams home after one game?  The only classification in the state to do so? 

Anyway, the boy Broncos dropped a 63-38 contest to South Summit to end their season.  After battling to a 12-12 first quarter tie, the 10-11 Broncos couldn’t stay with the Wildcats and try as they might, couldn’t come away with the victory. 

Cameron Shumway was the only Bronco to hit double figures with 14.

Buckaroos
The Buckaroo boys are still playing, and playing well, one might add.  Friday night saw the boys last home game against a game Dolores Bears team. 

The five seniors on the team, Josh Anderson, Sean Getter, Hendrick Benally, Tyler Ketron and Steven Redd, started the game for the Bucks and leaped out to a 9-0 lead.  After one quarter the Bucks led 13-8 which they extended to 30-20 by halftime. 

But the determined Bears fought their way back and actually forged a 35-34 lead with 3:24 left in the third quarter. 

But lead by big man Dallin Duncan, who finished the night with 16 points, the Bucks scored eight straight points and went on a 16-2 run to finally put the Bears to rest, 59-52. 

Ketron contributed 15 Buckaroo points while Steven Redd helped with 13 points.

The 16-2 Buckaroos end the regular season this week at Green River Thursday, where a win, coupled with a Whitehorse win over Monument Valley the same night, will cause a Buckaroo-Raider PLAY-OFF (rather than play-out) game to determine first and second seedings at state. 

The play-off game will be Friday at San Juan High School at 6 p.m.  State follows next week in Richfield.

Demeanor 2
Last week I wrote about Buckaroo wrestling demeanor.  This week a little Buckaroo Basketball  Behavior.  Friday night against the Dolores Bears, the Bucks had a decided height advantage.  Dolores is guard heavy and those guards penetrated all night, only to get stuffed on more than one occasion. 

After the Bears, however, had forged a slight lead, Steven Redd, Buckaroo senior forward, got one particularly reverberating block on the slight Bear guard, swatting the ball decisively out of bounds. 

Rather than scream and flex and strut and basically call attention to himself like one is most likely to see anywhere on TV basketball these days, Redd reacted by getting himself ready for the inbounds play which the Bears were setting up. 

No other reaction whatsoever from Redd as the crowd howled.  Stocktonesque, don’t you think?  Now that is class, if you ask me.  And to the freshman Bear guard’s credit, no reaction either.