San Juan boys basketball team tallies one win in three tries on the road to start new year

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School boys basketball team was looking strong at the end of 2023 with four wins in five games. They cruised into the Christmas break with an 81-31 win over Monticello in the annual meeting with their local rivals.
But the break seems to have affected the Broncos and they’ve had a slow start out of the gate in 2024. They suffered a 69-50 loss to Emery on the road in their first game back on January 2.
This past weekend the team was battling illness and injury on a two-day road trip to play North Sevier and Gunnison Valley in the first 2A Region 15 games of the season.
They pulled off a come-from-behind 56-46 win over the Wolves on Friday, January 5 but fell to the Bulldogs on Saturday, January 6 by a score of 62-50.
In Castle Dale on January 2 San Juan was right in the hunt with the score tied 11-11 after one quarter. But the Spartans exploded for a 31-point second quarter and the Broncos were never able to recover.
RJ Dalley led scoring in the loss with 13 points, Jake Ivins scored 11, and Tripp Palmer poured in eight. Dalley hit two threes and Jaiten Knight tallied one.
Jagger Nieves led the team with eight rebounds, Jake Ivins had seven, Justice Black pulled down six, Palmer added five, and Dalley got four.
Bronco Head Coach Easton Nielson said the main factor in the loss was his team’s inability to run the floor and keep pace with Emery. Indeed, San Juan out-rebounded the Spartans and won the turnover battle in the loss.
On the road trip this past weekend Nielson was hoping the team would begin to find their legs again. On Friday, January 5 they overcame a slow start against North Sevier in Salina to win by ten.
After trailing for the entire first quarter the Broncos rallied to take the lead in the second quarter and held a very tight 23-22 lead at the halftime break.
They increased that lead by one point with a 14-13 third quarter, then finished strong to win the fourth 19-11 for a 56-46 final. It wasn’t a perfect effort, but it got San Juan into the win column for the first time in the new year.
This time Anthony Done led Bronco scoring with a solid 20-point night. He also led the team with seven rebounds and seven steals in the win.
Jagger Nieves added eight points for San Juan, Jake Ivins scored six, Justice Black and Keaton Ivins had five apiece, and Weston Jones scored three off the bench.
Five different players hit one three-point basket each: Nieves, Brigham Nielson, Dalley, Done, and Jones. Jones pulled down five boards and had four steals.
Black had four rebounds and the Ivins boys got three apiece. San Juan shot 40 percent from the floor as a team in the win.
On day two of the road trip Saturday in Gunnison the illness and injury moving through the members of the team was evident. They came out flat and trailed the Bulldogs from start to finish in a 62-50 loss.
RJ Dalley was the standout for the Broncos, draining six three-point baskets to lead the team with 18 points. Jake Ivins scored nine points, Nieves had seven, and Keaton Ivins and Done got six apiece.
Done led rebounding in the loss with eight. Ivins pulled down four boards while Keaton Ivins and Weston Jones got three apiece.
Following the weekend San Juan is 6-8 on the year. They’re ranked 12th in the most current 2A RPI standings. It’ll be a busy next few days for the team.
They’ll travel right back to Sevier County to take on the #5 South Sevier Rams on Wednesday, January 10. They return home to face #3 North Summit and #6 Duchesne Friday and Saturday, January 12 and 13.
All three games will be broadcast on Redrock 92 Radio with streaming video on StreamUtah.Live. Tip times are set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday. Pregame for the broadcasts begins approximately 30 minutes before the tip.