San Juan boys basketball team suffers its first loss of young season but bounces back for win

The San Juan High School basketball team entered the past week with a 3-0 record set to take on what will most likely be the toughest opponent they’ll face all season.

For the second straight year the David Evans-helmed Real Salt Lake Academy visited the Broncos in Blanding Wednesday, December 8, and the Griffins just happened to be ranked #2 in the state according to MaxPreps when they did.

Ironically – or maybe un-ironically actually – the other team Evans built before he took over at RSL, Wasatch Academy, was ranked #1 in the state on the same night.

RSL Academy assembles top talent from across the country and plays against a national schedule. Their leading scorer, Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn is a five-star 2023 recruit and has been offered basketball scholarships by Indiana and Purdue universities.

San Juan welcomed the challenge, and though the Griffins’ skill, speed, and size was overwhelming from the opening tip, the Broncos hung in the game and battled hard.

When the buzzer sounded to end the first quarter, San Juan found themselves down 29-16, but they rallied to score 19 points in the second quarter to RSL’s 21.

In the third quarter the hometown squad continued to match the all-stars bucket for bucket, and at the buzzer the Broncos had again scored 19, this time to RSL’s 22.

But the San Juan offense cooled off in the final frame. RSL took the fourth quarter 15-9 and the game 87-63. Though it was tough for San Juan to take their first loss of the season, it was an impressive showing against some of the best high school basketball players in the state.

Bronco Head Coach Travis Black said RSL Coach Evans told him after the game how impressed he was with the San Juan players’ competitiveness. It’s also the type of game that will make the team better as the season goes along.

One thing that continues to concern San Juan through the first couple weeks of the season is their shooting percentage. Against RSL the Broncos shot just 38 percent from the floor, which is right at their season average.

But to give San Juan a little credit, the Griffins’ defense was unreal. They were extremely fast and aggressive to the ball, blocking eight Bronco shots on the night. Real Salt Lake also outrebounded the home team 44-24.

San Juan was most impressive from beyond the arc, hitting 12 of their 26 shots for 46 percent. It was a necessity since RSL didn’t allow much in the interior.

The Broncos also won the turnover battle, creating 16 turnovers while turning the ball over 15 times themselves. And they scored 11 points off turnovers in the game.

Jensen Grover exploded to lead the San Juan offense with 20 points in the loss. He and teammate Ladd Ivins both hit four threes in the game and Ivins finished with 18 points.

Jace Palmer led the rebounding effort with six. Cooper Black pulled down five, Grover got four, and Bronsen Snyder collected three.

Two nights later, on Friday, December 10, San Juan welcomed the American Heritage Patriots to Blanding, and this time it was the Broncos’ turn to have the upper hand – or so they thought.

Though San Juan was heavily favored and led for most of the opening quarter, it took a Jensen Grover three at the buzzer to put them ahead for good.

Following a tight 19-18 first quarter, the Bronco offense really got in gear, outscoring American Heritage by ten in the second to take a 42-31 lead into the half.

They’d need that lead in the second half. The Patriots outscored the Broncos 15-13 in the third quarter to pull to within nine points headed into the final period of play.

San Juan held the visitors off 21-18 in the fourth quarter to close out a 76-64 win. It was a hard-fought battle, and improved the Broncos to 4-1 on the year.

San Juan’s shooting improved a little, up to 40 percent, but they were still outshot by the Patriots, who hit 52 percent of their shots from the floor.

The Broncos were a solid 71 percent from the free throw line in the win, scoring 17 of their points from the charity stripe. They out-rebounded AHS 37-23.

Again Grover led the home squad with 21 points. Ivins scored 17, Palmer added nine, and Jayden Black scored seven. Cooper Black, Snyder, and Preston Imlay all scored six apiece in the win.

Grover and Ivins did a lot of their damage from beyond the arc again also, both hitting three triples on the night. Jayden Black led San Juan with eight rebounds. Jace Palmer was next in line with seven, and Cadin McPherson pulled down six off the bench.

Though Ladd Ivins continues to lead the Broncos’ scoring, averaging over 17 points per game, Jensen Grover stepped up to score 41 points in the two games this past week.

Coming into the week he was averaging just over 12 points per game. San Juan continues to play with a “next man up” mentality, something that served them well on the football field this past fall and something they hope bodes well for the basketball team headed deeper into the winter.

The Broncos will play two of their final three games of 2021 this week, beginning with a trip to Moab on Wednesday, December 15 to close out the season series with the rival Grand County Red Devils, who they beat to open the season.

Then it’s an all-day affair Saturday, December 18 with the Bayfield, CO Wolverines coming to Blanding for C-Team, JV, and varsity games with the girls and boys with games being played at both the high school and middle school.

And the boys will close out the pre-Christmas portion of the season in a local showdown with the Monticello Buckaroos on Tuesday, December 21 in the San Juan High School gym.

Check out the live coverage of all the varsity games on Redrock 92 Radio with streaming video at pictureitpalmer.com. Broadcasts begin at 6:30 p.m. December 15, 1:45 p.m. December 18, and 6:30 p.m. December 21.