Broncos torch the Red Devils, 83-38

THE ROUND-UP
by Tad Barton
The San Juan Bronco boys basketball team got back in the win column last Wednesday night in Moab, UT. After leading 17-16 after the first quarter, the Broncos blew the game wide open in the second quarter by outscoring the Red Devils 31-8, to claim a 48-24 lead at the half.
San Juan picked up in the second half right where they left off, playing solid defense leading to a 20-8 third quarter and a 68-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final period, the Bronco’s younger players continued to play good defense and once again held the Red Devils to single digit scoring, giving up just six points while scoring 15 themselves as San Juan claimed the 83-38 victory.
Max Morley led all scorers with 22 points, narrowly outpacing teammate DiQuan Lopez, who finished with 21. Lopez also led San Juan with seven assists.
Jordan Blake finished the night with 12 points and six rebounds. Senior Kade Palmer had a big night, scoring 11 points, pulling in eight boards and dishing out six assists.
Caleb Pugh added six points, while Jonathan Lewis and Kesian Barton both scored four points.
Jaden Torgerson rounded out the scoring with three points on the night.
In their second game of the week, the Broncos were on the road again, this time heading to Salina to play the North Sevier Wolves.
The game was tightly contested throughout the event. The Wolves jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter before the Broncos answered and pulled within one point, 13-12, at the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, North Sevier managed to build on their lead, outscoring San Juan 19-15 in the second stanza to hold a five-point lead at the half, 32-27.
The Broncos came out of the locker room firing in the third quarter, as they had their highest offensive output of the night, scoring 21 points, while giving up 15 to the Wolves. At the end of the third quarter, San Juan led 48-47.
In the final quarter, the aggressive play of the Broncos got them into foul trouble, putting the Wolves in the bonus early on in the quarter.
North Sevier used this to their advantage, as they put the game away from the free throw line and scored 22 points in the fourth to just 16 for San Juan resulting in a 69-64 final in favor of the Wolves.
Lopez led all scorers in the game with 25 points, including six threes to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Lopez was followed by Morley, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Blake finished the night with eight points just ahead of Pugh, who had seven points and Palmer, with six points. Wrapping up the scoring is Lewis, who had two points in the game.
San Juan’s next game will be Friday, January 30, as they to Monroe, UT to take on the South Sevier Rams. It is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
In girls’ basketball, the Lady Broncos had a couple of tough home games this past week, as they hosted the North Sevier Wolves on Friday night and the South Sevier Rams on Saturday afternoon.
San Juan dropped both Region 15 contests to stay in fifth place in the region standings.
On Friday night, the Broncos fell behind early, getting outscored by the Wolves 18-4 in the first quarter. San Juan had a slightly better second quarter as they scored six more points, however, North Sevier erupted in the second quarter scoring 22 points, building their lead to 30 points at the half 40-10.
The third quarter, unfortunately for the Broncos, was more of the same, as the Wolves again outscored the home team 15-11 to lead 55-21 going into the fourth quarter.
Even with the game out of reach, San Juan kept fighting, as they managed to win the fourth quarter 15-9 resulting in a 64-36 loss for the Broncos.
Sara Morley led the Broncos with 14 points, followed by Jessica Swenson with eight. Jade Palmer chipped in four points while Arizona Carr and Krista Grover both scored three points. Megan Grover and Tyla Morris capped off the scoring for San Juan with two points each.
A slow second quarter spelled out doom for the Lady Broncos Saturday against the South Sevier Rams.
Trailing just by three after the first quarter, 9-6, San Juan only scored two points in the second quarter. On the other side of the court, the Rams added 12 points to their total and San Juan went into the locker room down 21-8.
South Sevier built on their lead in the third quarter, leading by as much as 21 at one point in the quarter. San Juan more than doubled their point total in adding 12 points however South Sevier added another 18 to their total to lead by 19, 39-20 after three quarters of play.
The Broncos never quit as they battled back in the fourth quarter, doubling the Rams point total in the quarter 10-5. San Juan managed to cut the Ram lead to 11 points twice in the final period but ultimately fell short, 44-30.
Morley led all scorers in the game with 12 points. Only four Broncos got on the scoreboard in the game. Morley was followed by Carr with eight points and Palmer with six. Morris added four points in the loss.
The Lady Broncos only have one game this week as they travel to Castle Dale to play the top team in Region 15, the Emery Spartans. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff.