Bronco boys rebound for region wins over South Sevier and Beaver

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School boys basketball team looked like themselves this past weekend on their home court. South Sevier paid a visit to Blanding on Friday, February 4 and Beaver was in town on Saturday for a couple 2A Region 19 matchups.
The Broncos took care of business, downing the Rams 74-53 and smothering the Beavers 67-22 to improve to 17-4 on the season and bounce back from a tough loss in Parowan on January 29.
Both nights featured special presentations in a packed SJHS gymnasium. On Friday the Broncos revealed their State Football Championship banner and Saturday was Senior Night – the last home game of the regular season.
Against South Sevier on Friday San Juan jumped out to a 19-14 lead after one quarter, but that evaporated in the second when the Rams rallied for a 29-29 tie at halftime.
The Broncos caught fire in the third quarter, doubling up South Sevier and opening a 55-42 lead. They dominated the fourth quarter also to close out the win.
The game with Beaver was never in question on Saturday. San Juan blew it open with a 22-4 first quarter and never looked back, cruising to victory over the Beavers.
San Juan looked to be approaching their pre-Christmas form in the wins. The defense was tight and the rebounding was much better than it has been in the last few games.
The Broncos out-rebounded their opponents 76-55 on the weekend and scored 25 second-chance points to eight (13-0 against Beaver). They scored 35 points off turnovers to their opponents’ 13.
Cooper Black picked up a double-double against South Sevier, with 17 points and ten rebounds. Ladd Ivins led the Bronco scoring with 19 points, Jayden Black added 15, and Jensen Grover got 12.
Against Beaver Grover led the way with 16 points, Jayden Black had 14, and Ivins scored 13. Cooper Black just missed another double-double with seven points and 12 boards in the win.
The 2A #1 Broncos will close out their regular season this week with a tough road trip to Kanab on Friday, February 11. The Cowboys were 9-9 when the week started, but they’ll play in Enterprise on Wednesday, February 9.
Friday’s matchup is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. and you can see it live on PictureItPalmer.com with the pregame beginning at 6:30.