Bronco boys rebound from tough losses to smother South Sevier
by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School boys basketball team started the past week off with tough road losses on Tuesday, December 9 and Wednesday, December 10.
They fell to the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers 71-40 in Colorado on Tuesday and the Emery Spartans 55-42 in Castle Dale on Wednesday.
But the Broncos closed out the week on a high note with a solid 70-62 home win against the South Sevier Rams to open Region 18 play on Saturday, December 13.
It was a hard-fought first half against South Sevier on Saturday. San Juan trailed 11-8 after one quarter, but exploded for 26 second-quarter points to take a 34-25 lead into halftime.
The Broncos kept it coming in the third quarter, outscoring the Rams 17-11 to take a 51-36 lead into the final frame.
The San Juan offense relaxed a bit in the fourth quarter, allowing South Sevier to battle back into the game. The Rams got as close as four points before the Broncos pushed back to finish off the win.
Four San Juan players scored in double figures in the game, including Cole Duke (21), Baylor Nielson (14), Jagger Nieves (12), and Tripp Palmer (12).
George McNaughtan added three points for the Broncos while Cash Palmer, Randall Black, Beau Yeomans, and Brigg Palmer tallied two apiece.
Cole Duke drained four three-point buckets in the win, Baylor Nielson hit three, and Jagger Nieves got a couple.
It was another double-double for Tripp Palmer when he led the team with 13 rebounds. Duke pulled down nine boards, Nieves got six, and McNaughtan three.
San Juan improved to 5-3 with the win. Through the first eight games of the season three players are averaging double-digit scoring.
Tripp Palmer leads the way with 13.0 points per game, Duke is averaging 12.8, and Nieves has a 10.9 average.
Baylor Nielson has also had a strong start to the season. He’s averaging 8.5 points so far, while McNaughtan rounds out the top five with a 5.3 average.
Duke leads the team with ten three-point baskets, but Nielson is right behind with nine and Nieves has eight. Tripp Palmer leads with 119 rebounds. McNaughtan has 57 and Duke 52.
Nielson has the most assists through the first eight games with 24, while Nieves has helped on 22 Bronco buckets. Duke, Nieves, and Nielson all have 16 steals apiece. McNaughtan leads with nine blocked shots and Palmer has six.
The Broncos will play three games this week to close out the 2025 portion of the schedule. They’ll travel to Millard to take on the Eagles on Wednesday, December 17 in a game you can watch on StreamUtah.Live.
They return home Friday and Saturday, December 19-20 to host Parowan at 7 p.m. and Kanab at 2 p.m. respectively.
Both of those games are part of Region 18 doubleheaders and you can watch them live on StreamUtah.Live and listen on Redrock 92 Radio following the girls games.