Broncos upset #2 North Summit and defeat Duchesne in strong weekend showings

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The North Summit boys basketball team beat San Juan 66-55 in the teams’ first meeting this season on January 10 in Coalville, UT.
At the time it was the Braves’ eighth win in a row and they went on to win 13 straight, propelling themselves to the #2 spot in the 2A RPI standings heading into their matchup with the Broncos in Blanding this past Saturday, February 1.
On Friday, January 31 2A #14 San Juan had beaten #18 Duchesne 47-33 and they were eagerly anticipating the opportunity to upset one of the top 2A teams in the state. North Summit was coming off a win at Grand County on Friday.
After the Duchesne win Bronco Head Coach Easton Nielson stated that his team didn’t think of themselves as underdogs. They have believed all season that they can beat anyone, so that’s how they would approach the matchup with the Braves.
After a tough previous weekend that saw San Juan lose two overtime heartbreakers at Gunnison Valley and North Sevier, the Broncos did indeed seem to be coming into their own this past weekend.
The victory over Duchesne, who beat San Juan in their first meeting, was convincing. The team looked like a unit. They were more patient with their shots and aggressive with their movement.
The Bronco defense stifled the Eagles completely, holding them on the perimeter for the majority of the night. When Duchesne did penetrate for a shot, the Broncos were right there to gobble up a rebound more times than not.
So it was no surprise that San Juan came out against North Summit with that same intensity and determination on Saturday. The 18-11 lead they built in the first quarter had Braves players, coaches, and fans glancing around nervously.
It was no fluke. The Broncos continued to execute, outscoring their opponents 14-12 in the second frame to take a 32-23 lead into halftime.
A second-half surge from North Summit was expected by everyone gathered in the San Juan High School gym. It came, but the Broncos weathered the storm very capably, again outscoring the Braves 14-13 in the third quarter.
Not surprisingly the #2 team in the state was not about to go down quietly. They seized momentum in the fourth quarter, cutting San Juan’s lead to seven points on two foul shots with 1:30 to go in the game.
As the Broncos attempted to inbound the ball, North Summit senior Jake Smith tipped Tripp Palmer’s pass away from Jagger Nieves, then athletically snagged it, banking it off Palmer’s side and out of bounds.
Smith then inbounded to Trevor Richens who scored on an alley-oop, making the score 60-55. San Juan was unable to score on their ensuing possession and a Jake Smith drive and basket cut the Broncos’ lead to 60-57 with just 31 seconds to go.
Jagger Nieves drew a North Summit foul as he took an inbound pass in the backcourt and hit one of his two free throws to make the score 61-57 with 27 seconds left.
Miraculously the Braves scored with 12 seconds to go when Buck Sargent rolled a hook shot from the lane into the bucket, drawing a foul on Tripp Palmer in the process.
Sargent added a third point from the free throw line and San Juan’s lead was down to just one point at 61-60. A lot can happen in 12 seconds, and the game was still far from over.
Jake Ivins was fouled immediately as the Broncos got the ball inbounds, and he made both of his foul shots to increase the lead back to three at 63-60.
With only ten seconds to go North Summit called a timeout to draw up a game-winning miracle play. Once play resumed they executed it perfectly, getting the ball to their best shooter, Trevor Richens.
Richens launched a three-point shot from the right wing but it rimmed out, allowing the Broncos to pull down the final – and maybe biggest – rebound of the game, drawing one last foul on the Braves.
Cole Duke hit both foul shots, which turned out to be absolutely essential in sealing the victory. With 2.5 seconds left North Summit inbounded with a full-court pass from Sargent to sophomore Tate Pace.
Pace, in his only appearance and only shot of the game, promptly drained a three-point bucket at the buzzer, making the final score 65-63 in favor of San Juan.
Bronco fans cheered as they watched their team upset the #2-ranked North Summit Braves in their final regular season home game. It was an exciting result for a team that’s been striving to find consistent success all year.
San Juan looked confident and determined all weekend and they played like a team that believed they could win both of the key Region 15 matchups on their home court.
Everyone on the roster contributed, with Jagger Nieves putting together one of his best weekends of the season to lead the team with 29 points. Cole Duke poured in 26 points in the two wins and Tripp Palmer got 23.
Jake Ivins and Jaiten Knight both scored 14 points apiece for San Juan while Cash Palmer added four. Baylor Nielson and George McNaughtan scored one point each.
Cole Duke led the team with five three-point baskets in the two games. Jaiten Knight hit two while Tripp Palmer and Jagger Nieves got one apiece.
Tripp Palmer pulled down 17 rebounds on the weekend. Jake Ivins got 11, Jagger Nieves collected ten, and Cole Duke got nine.
George McNaughtan contributed six rebounds in the wins, Jaiten Knight pulled down five, Cash Palmer got three, and Baylor Nielson added one.
Jake Ivins assisted on 12 San Juan baskets against Duchesne and North Summit while Cole Duke had four steals.
Following the big win on Saturday, Coach Nielson said, “Great team win. Great effort. Huge win for us. We led that game from start to finish and we expected to do that. We had a defensive game plan we had a lot of confidence in.
“The great thing is we made enough free throws not to let calls or anything influence the outcome,” he continued, “and that was a big step in the right direction.”
Indeed, the Broncos were 70 percent from the free throw line against North Summit, making 26 of their 37 attempts, including the key shots that closed out the game in the waning moments. That was something they struggled with the previous weekend.
“This group has come together really well,” explained Nielson. “Everybody played a role [this weekend]. If we play that level of basketball, we can beat anybody on any given day.”
It was without a doubt San Juan’s best two-game combo of the season. They were very convincing from start to finish in both games, despite the late dog fight against North Summit.
With the wins the Broncos improved to 10-11 on the year and they advanced briefly to #11 in the 2A RPI standings before settling into the #12 spot after the conclusion of all the games Saturday night.
Heading into this week the boys were in position to host a home game in the first round of the state tournament on Wednesday, February 12. With a win they would face a top-five team on the road in the second round.
But the first priority for San Juan is to close out the regular season in solid fashion with two close-to-home road trips. They’ll travel to face the Monticello Buckaroos on Wednesday, February 5.
Then on Friday, February 7 the Broncos conclude the regular season in Moab with a tough rivalry matchup with the Grand County Red Devils.
Both games are scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. and they’ll both be broadcast on Redrock 92 Radio with video on StreamUtah.Live.