San Juan boys win two, lose one in busy week

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School boys basketball team welcomed the Millard Eagles to Blanding on Wednesday, December 4 looking to get back above .500 on the season in their first game after the Thanksgiving Break.
Though it’s still early in the season and it wasn’t a perfect effort, the Broncos made strides as a team and controlled the game from start to finish to win 71-53.
They won every quarter in the victory, shooting 46 percent from the floor (24 for 52), 46 percent from three-point range (6 for 13), and a solid 71 percent from the free throw line (17 for 24).
San Juan was excellent on the boards, out-rebounding Millard 41-23 in the game. The Broncos also had two steals in the win and four blocks. But they turned the ball over 17 times, an area Head Coach Easton Nielson said they would like to improve.
San Juan leading scorer Tripp Palmer scored 16 points, but so did Cole Duke in an outstanding game for both juniors. Jake Ivins scored 14, Jagger Nieves 12, Jaiten Knight 11, and George McNaughtan two.
Duke and Knight drained a couple three-point baskets each while Palmer and Nieves both got one apiece. Nieves just missed a double-double with nine rebounds in the win. Palmer pulled down eight, Duke collected seven, and Knight had six.
Though Jake Ivins isn’t the Broncos’ quarterback on the football field, he is on the basketball court. The senior led the team with seven assists against the Eagles. Nieves helped out with five and Knight had four.
Following the win over Millard San Juan took a day to prepare for a trip to Richfield for the annual 2A-3A Preview where they would face two tough 3A teams in the Sevier Valley Center.
First, they came up against Carbon in game one on Friday, December 6. The Broncos got off to a fast start, opening up a 15-9 lead after one quarter, then stretching it to 33-26 at halftime.
They continued to cruise in the third quarter, outscoring The Dinos 21-15 in the frame to make their lead 54-41 heading into the fourth quarter.
But there was one problem – or two really. Both Jake Ivins and Jaiten Knight fouled out of the game. Ivins fouled out early in the third quarter.
San Juan got an outstanding performance from George McNaughtan off the bench, however, that helped bolster the team and propel them to victory.
Carbon outscored the Broncos 19-11 in the fourth quarter, but the lead San Juan had built throughout the first three quarters paid off in a 65-60 final.
McNaughtan not only scored 13 points in the win, but he was also outstanding inside, pulling down an impressive 12 rebounds to earn a double-double.
Palmer again scored 16 points in the win and this time it was Nieves matching his point total. Duke scored 13 points, Ivins had four before he fouled out, and Knight got three before he left the game.
It wasn’t a long-range shooting game for San Juan. There was just a trio of three-pointers – one each for Duke, Nieves, and Palmer.
The Broncos dominated on the boards again, out-rebounding the Dinos 41-16. In addition to McNaughtan’s 12 boards, Duke and Palmer had seven each, Knight had six, and Nieves finished with four.
Ivins and Duke both collected four assists apiece, Nieves had three, and Knight got two. Unfortunately the turnover bug was still alive and well. Despite the win San Juan turned the ball over 23 times.
The exciting performance from McNaughtan in game one of the Preview earned him a starting spot in game two Saturday, December 7 against a tough Delta squad.
Amazingly the Rabbits had beaten Kanab in their first game of the Preview Friday morning, then returned to their home gym Friday night to beat South Summit.
On Saturday they returned to the Sevier Valley Center looking for a little revenge against the boys who had had their way with Delta twice on the football field this season.
It was a battle for sure and San Juan had the early momentum as they opened a 4-0 lead on the Rabbits. But that evaporated very quickly as Delta went on a 10-2 run to seize the lead and they held an 18-12 advantage after one quarter.
The Broncos rallied to win the second quarter 11-8 and actually retook the lead briefly. But Delta bounced back for a 36-33 advantage at halftime.
Neither team scored for the first four minutes of the third quarter before San Juan finally broke through with a Tripp Palmer bucket. They continued to rally and retook the lead 28-26.
But once again that lead was brief as Delta outscored the Broncos 12-6 in the last half of the third quarter to lead 38-34 heading into the final frame.
The pace and intensity of the game picked up in the fourth quarter and San Juan rallied again to tie the game at 44-44 midway through the quarter.
From that point Delta took the lead back and held it for the remainder of the quarter. San Juan stayed in the hunt though, down by no more than 1-3 points throughout, leading to an exciting finish.
With 24 seconds remaining and the Broncos trailing 51-48 they called a timeout to draw up a play. That play worked. San Juan scored almost immediately on a nice drive to the bucket from Jake Ivins, making the score 51-50.
Ivins was injured on the play, resulting in a lengthy timeout. When the game resumed the Broncos were forced to foul Delta three times, putting the Rabbits in the bonus with just four seconds on the clock.
Delta foul shooter Bronco Bundy made the first of his two shots, but missed the second. George McNaughtan snagged the rebound and immediately called timeout with just 3.3 seconds left.
San Juan would just need to inbound the ball cleanly and release a shot before the buzzer for a miracle comeback finish. But it was not to be.
The Broncos’ inbound pass was intercepted, and that’s how it ended with Delta winning 52-50 in what was one of the most exciting games of the Preview.
Tripp Palmer earned San Juan’s second double-double in as many days with his 20-point, 15-rebound effort. Knight scored eight points, Ivins and Nieves had seven apiece, Duke added four, and Cash Palmer and McNaughtan both got two each.
McNaughtan had another strong day on the boards with nine rebounds. Ivins and Knight had five apiece, while Nieves and Duke collected two each as San Juan out-rebounded Delta 38-24. Ivins led the team again with seven assists.
Knight scored the Broncos’ two three-point buckets in the loss. The team shot 38 percent from the floor and just 20 percent from beyond the arc, but they were a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line.
San Juan improved slightly on their day-one performance but still turned the ball over 18 times. Following the completion of the weekend Coach Nielson said he was very proud of their physical effort in both games, but specifically against Delta.
“We want to know we can compete with good teams like that,” he stated. “We feel really good about that effort. My guys hate to lose, but we just went wire-to-wire with a dang good 3A team.
“Certainly there are things we’re going to learn from and be better prepared,” he continued, “but great effort staying in it and we feel really good about the progress we’re making.”
Entering this week San Juan was 3-2 on the season and were hoping to get Jake Ivins back in time for a busy week. The Broncos played the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers on Tuesday, December 10.
They’ll travel to Spanish Fork to take on American Leadership Academy on Wednesday, December 11 at 6 p.m. Then they return home to host Bryce Valley at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 14.
The Wednesday and Saturday games will be broadcast live on Redrock 92 with video on StreamUtah.Live. Pregame begins approximately 30 minutes before tip time.