San Juan boys suffer heart-wrenching losses

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School boys basketball team suffered two gut-wrenching losses on a tough road trip to Sanpete and Sevier counties this past Friday and Saturday, January 24 and 25.
First, in Gunnison on Friday the Broncos saw a 12-point second-half lead evaporate as the Gunnison Valley Bulldogs rallied to tie the game at 48-48 at the end of regulation.
The Region 15 opponents battled back and forth in the first overtime, but were unable to bring the game to a satisfactory conclusion when they found themselves tied again at 57-57.
In the second overtime the teams again played their hearts out until, with 13 seconds left, the Broncos broke a 63-63 tie with a nice drive and a layup from Cole Duke.
Following a Gunnison Valley timeout, the Bulldogs worked the ball into the front court where 5’7” sophomore Bridger Hill took a pass, drove to the left of the key, and hit a stunning runner over Tripp Palmer with just 0.4 left on the clock.
Not only did he score the miracle bucket, he also drew a foul from Palmer on the play, and with the game tied at 65-65, he would go to the line with an opportunity to end it.
With ice in his veins Hill did just that. He hit the free throw, making the score 66-65 in favor of Gunnison Valley. And with just 0.4 left in the second OT San Juan simply didn’t have enough time to answer.
It was a heartbreaker in more ways than one – because the Broncos had played a good game and because they had let a large lead slip away late in the game.
The only real struggle San Juan had in the loss was at the foul line where they shot just 8 of 23 on the night. They were a bit cool from the floor also, shooting 23 of 60 for 38 percent in the loss.
But they never gave up, they battled as a team, and they left it all on the court. That makes the loss particularly hard to swallow.
Individually Tripp Palmer led the way for the Broncos with 21 points. Cole Duke had a great game with 16 points. Jaiten Knight and Jagger Nieves both netted nine points apiece.
Baylor Nielson scored six for San Juan, Jake Ivins had three, and George McNaughtan added one point. The team shot very well from long range, hitting nine of their 22 three-point attempts on the night.
Knight hit three threes, Nielson and Duke both got two each, and Nieves and Palmer had one apiece. Palmer pulled down 11 rebounds, completing yet another double-double in the game.
Ivins had seven boards, Nieves six, McNaughtan and Knight five apiece, Brigg Palmer three, and Nielson and Duke got one each.
On Saturday the Broncos entered the North Sevier gym in Salina looking to put the tough loss behind them and get back in the win column against the Wolves.
Though San Juan had a brief early lead, North Sevier held the lead for most of the game. This time it was the Broncos’ turn to rally from behind, and they steadily erased an eight-point second-half deficit to take their own five-point lead late in the game.
It looked like fate was smiling down on San Juan and they would split the two games on the weekend. But with just over three minutes left in regulation North Sevier began to catch back up.
In the last 25 seconds the Wolves had a chance to tie but were unable to complete a three-point play. They were forced to foul Jagger Nieves with just 16 seconds remaining in the game.
Nieves hit both of his foul shots, making the score 51-48 in favor of the Broncos with 12.5 seconds left. North Sevier was unable to score on their possession and San Juan earned another foul on the rebound, sending them to the foul line with a chance to end the game.
Sadly they were unable to capitalize, the Wolves got the rebound on the second miss, and called timeout with only 2.7 seconds left.
Then, as if it was always destined on this crazy weekend, North Sevier inbounded the ball to their leading scorer, Brody Bulloch. He spun and threw the ball up from the right corner, scoring to tie the game as the buzzer sounded.
A second circus shot in as many days had stunned San Juan and sent this game to overtime as well. The teams battled through the OT trading the lead until, with San Juan leading by two with 51 seconds left, a flop was called on Cole Duke.
In reality Duke’s foot had been stepped on while he was defending a North Sevier shooter, causing him to trip and fall. So the call was incorrect and, adding insult to injury, there had been another incorrect flop called on the Broncos earlier in the game.
So this second flop call resulted in a team technical foul. It allowed the Wolves’ basket to count, gave them two foul shots, and gave them possession of the ball. In 15 seconds San Juan’s three-point lead suddenly became a two-point North Sevier lead.
The Broncos did have another opportunity to tie in the waning seconds, but were only able to make one of two free throws as the Wolves closed out the game 64-59.
It was a heartbreaking loss equal to their loss the night before. San Juan had done what their coach, Easton Nielson had asked. They shot better from the free throw line.
They matched North Sevier on the boards. They limited their turnovers. It just wasn’t their weekend. And it would be easy to be bitter about the officiating in their opponents’ gym.
But the Broncos won’t do that. Coach Nielson remains adamant that his team is in a good place after the tough weekend. He says they know there were missed opportunities to close out both games.
He also expressed that there are a number of little things they can and will do to get better so they can avoid being in a position to be hurt by “challenging” officiating.
As stated, they improved their foul shooting against North Sevier by 31 percent, going 25 of 38 against the Wolves. Tripp Palmer got another double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Duke and Nieves scored ten points each in the loss. Knight added eight, Ivins six, and McNaughtan two. Nieves and Knight hit one three-pointer apiece. Duke and McNaughtan pulled down seven rebounds each.
The Broncos fell to 8-11 on the year with the losses and dropped to 14th in the 2A RPI standings. It’s honestly almost better for them to be underdogs coming into a game, which they certainly will be this weekend.
On Friday, January 31 they welcome #19 Duchesne to the San Juan gym. The Eagles beat the Broncos in Duchesne 49-42 in a somewhat controversial ending on January 11.
On Saturday, February 1 #2 North Summit will pay a visit to Blanding. The Braves also beat the Broncos on that road trip 66-55 in Coalville.
The Friday game tips at 7 p.m. and the Saturday game tips at 1 p.m. You can hear both games live on Redrock 92 Radio with video on StreamUtah.Live as part of a quadruple-header with the girls. The broadcasts begin with the girls’ games at 5 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.