San Juan boys and girls close regular season against Beaver, head into state tournament play-in games this week

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School girls and boys basketball teams both closed out their regular seasons this past Friday, February 10 against Beaver – the boys on the road and the girls at home.
For the boys, it was a carbon copy of their first meeting with the Beavers on January 27 in Blanding except this time the roles were reversed.
The Broncos trailed by 12 not once but twice in the game this past Friday, and one of those two times was at the halftime break. Beaver outscored them in the first quarter 24-17 and in the second 14-9 and were well on their way to upsetting San Juan.
But the Broncos found some fire in the third quarter, putting up 20 points on the home team to regain their first lead since early in the game while holding the Beavers to just six. The teams traded baskets in the fourth quarter until San Juan had a 59-57 lead with just 15 seconds to go.
But that’s when Trayson Yardley, the Beaver’s only senior and captain, proceeded to walk the ball the length of the court, turning on the jets to slip right through the Bronco defense and bank the ball in as he was sailing out of bounds.
San Juan got a time out with 2.6 seconds remaining – a chance to draw up one final play and win on a miracle buzzer-beater. But it wasn’t to be.
Anthony Done slung a half-court inbound pass to Collin Baker, but Baker caught it in the front court and stepped on the time line, resulting in a back court violation and giving the ball back to Beaver with just over one second left.
Now it was the Beavers who would get a final shot looking for a miracle. But that also sailed wide and the game was headed to overtime tied 59-59. It was the second overtime game in as many meetings between the teams this season.
Beaver opened the scoring in the overtime period, but they only mustered three more points for the remainder of the game.
San Juan got a three-pointer from Garrett Young and a bucket from Done. Then, with the game tied at 64-64 and time winding down, Collin Baker went to the bucket, drawing a Beaver foul with 2.6 seconds left.
He made one of the two free throws, and that was all the Broncos would need. Beaver was unable to get a miracle basket at time expired and San Juan held on for their second straight one-point overtime victory over the Beavers.
Baker has truly found his groove in the last three weeks of the season, and he led San Juan scoring once again in this one with 23 points. Young scored 13, Done had nine, RJ Dalley poured in eight, Ian Johnson scored six, Dakota Long had five, and Jake Ivins rounded the scoring with one.
Garrett Young led the team with three three-pointers in the win, Dalley hit two, and Johnson and Long had one apiece. Baker had eight rebounds for the Broncos, Young and Done pulled down six apiece, and Dalley collected five.
The win improved San Juan to 8-15 to close out the regular season and secured ninth place in the 2A RPI standings, earning them a bye in the first round of the state tournament.
But they have to travel for round two and will face the #8 Parowan Rams this Friday, February 17. A win and the Broncos will earn a trip to the state quarterfinals at Salt Lake Community College next weekend. A loss and the season will come to a close.
They’ve already beaten the Rams twice this season, so it’s pure RPI silliness that they have to travel for the teams’ third matchup. This Friday’s game tips at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Redrock 92 with the pregame beginning at 6:30 p.m.
San Juan Girls
It was senior night for the San Juan girls against Beaver on Friday, February 10 and the final game of the regular season. It won’t, however, be the final high school basketball game played in the San Juan gym this season. More on that in a minute.
The girls were looking for their sixth win of the season and an upset against the #1-ranked Beavers, but that was a tall order for sure. Beaver didn’t allow the San Juan faithful much to cheer about as they dominated in a 70-36 final.
The Lady Broncos finish the regular season 5-17 ranked 15th in the 2A RPI standings. They will host #18 Gunnison Valley on Wednesday, February 15 at 6 p.m.
If they get past the Bulldogs they travel to Coalville to face the #2 North Summit Braves in the second round, probably on Saturday afternoon, February 18.