Lady Broncos win season opener, 49-27

THE ROUND-UP
by Tad Barton
In spite of a slow start in their season opener, the San Juan girls’ basketball team picked up a lopsided win last Tuesday night in Green River, UT, defeating the Green River Pirates 49-27.
Coach Justin Moon’s crew had 10 players score, paced by Tyla Morris who finished with a game high 16 points.
After a low scoring first quarter, the Broncos trailed the Pirates 5-4. The slow start was quickly forgotten as San Juan came to life in the second quarter, outscoring the Pirates 15-5, giving the Broncos a comfortable nine point lead at the half, 19-10.
San Juan continued to scorch the net in the third quarter as they added 21 points to their score. The Broncos defense also came up big, holding the Pirates to just three points in the quarter, giving San Juan a 40-13 lead after three quarters of play.
The Pirates managed to cut into the big Bronco lead in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Broncos 14-9. The rally proved to be too little too late as San Juan picked up their first win of the season 49-27.
Morris led all players with 16 points in the game. She was followed by Jade Palmer with seven points and Sara Morley with six points.
Lakesia Lopez and Kelsey Flavel added four points apiece and Kelesha Gray tossed in three points.
Lynalla Benn, Krista Grover, Jessica Swenson and Alexis James each scored two points in the win.
The Lady Broncos will head to Shiprock, N.M. this weekend to play in the Shiprock Tournament. The tournament begins on Thursday, December 4 and runs through Saturday, December 6. Opponents and game times were still TBD as of press time.
While the girls were able to pick up a win on the road, the road wasn’t quite so kind to the San Juan boys’ basketball team.
The Broncos traveled to Shiprock, N.M. last Tuesday night, November 25 and came up on the wrong end of a 63-59 score.
The Broncos and Chieftains battled throughout the first quarter with San Juan claiming a narrow one-point advantage after opening 8:00 minutes of play, 20-19.
The second quarter was more of the same as neither team was able to get much separation and build much of a lead.
Shiprock gained the upper hand in the second quarter outscoring San Juan 13-11, to claim a one point lead at the break, 32-31
After a slow start in the third quarter, the Broncos found themselves down double digits trailing by 11 points. San Juan managed to battle back and cut the Shiprock lead to just four points by the end of the third quarter, 50-46.
The Broncos managed to take the lead early in the fourth quarter but were unable to build on or maintain it.
Ultimately, both teams ended up scoring 13 points in the final period of the game, dropping San Juan to 0-1 on the season with a 63-59 loss.
The Broncos were led by Bronz Eldredge who finished the night with 18 points and 14 rebounds, nine of those coming on offense.
DiQuan Lopez also hit double digits, scoring 13 points, pulled down five rebounds and logged two steals. Jordan Blake scored six points and grabbed six boards to go along with three assists and two blocked shots.
Max Morley and Caleb Pugh each chipped in five points, Morley also had six rebounds. Kade Palmer, Kesian Barton and Johnathon Lewis each scored four points, with Palmer hauling in seven rebounds and Barton dishing out three assists.
San Juan hosts Aztec, N.M. tonight in Blanding. Tipoff for the varsity game is set for 7 p.m.
On Thursday December 4, the Broncos head to Gallup, N.M. to play in the Rohobath Christian High School Tournament. Opponents and times for the Rohobath Tournament were not available as of press time.