San Juan boys close regular season with wins over rivals, head into state tournament with momentum
by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
Sometimes you have to lose to win. That’s definitely been the case for the San Juan High School boys basketball team in the past two weeks.
It seems a road trip to play Gunnison Valley and North Sevier on January 31 and February 1 has been a major turning point for the Broncos’ season.
The team suffered gut-wrenching overtime losses to the Bulldogs and Wolves in games they probably should have won. Since returning from that road trip San Juan has played their best basketball of the season.
They beat Duchesne easily on February 7 and got their most impressive win so far this year in an upset of then #2 North Summit on February 8.
This past week the Broncos built on that momentum, ending their regular season with road wins over local rivals Monticello and Grand County.
In front of a packed house in Monticello on Wednesday, February 5 the Buckaroos opened a lead to start the game but it was very brief as a suffocating San Juan defense turned the tide. By the end of the first quarter the Broncos led 22-6.
The remainder of the game played out in a similar fashion, with Monticello keeping up with the Broncos until a sudden burst of scoring would increase the San Juan lead.
The score was 38-17 at halftime and 58-29 after three quarters. By the end of the game, the Bronco lead was 24 points in a 68-44 win.
Cole Duke led San Juan scoring with 21 points, draining four three-point baskets in the second half. Tripp Palmer added 14 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.
Jagger Nieves earned a double-double, scoring ten points with 11 rebounds and six assists. Jake Ivins had ten points in the win, adding seven rebounds and three assists.
Cash Palmer scored six points for the Broncos, Baylor Nielson got five, and George McNaughtan rounded out the scoring with two points.
On Friday, February 7 San Juan traveled to Moab to close out their regular season against rival Grand County.
The Red Devil gym is always a volatile place for a visiting team to play and this night was no exception. The stands were full, the crowd was loud, and the Grand student section was even louder.
Similar to the Monticello game San Juan trailed early, but only briefly before taking a lead that would last through the entire game.
The Broncos were up 15-10 after one quarter and 28-24 at the half. They outscored Grand 21-19 in the third to increase their lead to 49-44.
The Red Devils left it all on the court and were within four points in the final minutes of the game, but San Juan got some clutch shooting from the floor and free throw line to close out their rivals 67-56.
Cole Duke continued to light it up for the Broncos, leading scoring with 20 points. He hit a game-high four three-point buckets in the win.
Tripp Palmer registered a double-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks, two steals, and one three-pointer.
Jaiten Knight had one of his best games of the season, draining a trio of threes to help himself to 14 points. He also pulled down six boards and assisted on three buckets.
Jake Ivins just missed a triple double on the night. He scored nine points for San Juan and collected 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Jagger Nieves got called for a phantom technical foul in the third quarter that bumped him up to four personal fouls, so he didn’t get a lot of court time in the second half before fouling out early in the fourth quarter with seven points.
George McNaughtan rounded out the San Juan scoring with a two-point effort. He also had six rebounds and one steal in the win.
The Broncos finished the regular season ranked tenth in the 2A standings. They begin play in the 2025 2A Utah State Tournament at home this Wednesday, February 12 at 5 p.m. against #23 St. Joseph.
With a win San Juan would likely travel to play Draper APA in the second round of the tournament on Saturday, February 15 at 1 p.m.
Catch all the action for both games live on Redrock 92 Radio with video on StreamUtah.Live beginning approximately 30 minutes before tip time.