Tough road trip for San Juan basketball
by Bill Boyle
San Juan Record Editor
The San Juan basketball teams put 700 miles on the odometer over the weekend on a long Region 15 road trip to Coalville and Duchesne.
The boys and girls teams were both defeated in their games. The first game was a highly-anticipated matchup against the North Summit Braves, the preseason region favorite.
North Summit jumped to an early lead, trailing 22-8 after the first quarter, and San Juan had to play catchup for the remainder of the game.
The Broncos fought back into the game in the second quarter and trailed at halftime 29-21. In the second half, Baylor Nielson hit five three-point shots and Jagger Nieves scored twelve.
However, the dominating inside play of Brave Buck Sargent – who scored twelve in the second half – kept North Summit in the lead. In the end, the Braves came away with a 66-55 victory over the Broncos.
Nieves was the leading scorer with 20 and Nielson added 18. Other scorers for the Broncos were George McNaughton – filling in for the injured Tripp Palmer – with eight, Jake Ivins with five, and Cole Duke with four.
In the other game, the Lady Broncos fell behind early to North Summit – the top-ranked team in 2A – and were defeated 78-25.
Kaidence Mitchell led the Lady Broncos with seven points, with Madi Adams and Syndell each adding five. Hayden Shumway scored four and Macee Palmer and Khimya Fullwood each scored two.
It was similar for the Lady Broncos the following day in Duchesne, with the Eagles winning 67-17. Mitchell scored nine, Shumway five and Fullwood three.
The Lady Broncos travel to Moab to play Grand on Thursday in their only game of the week.
The Bronco boys faced a tough road game against Duchesne. The Eagles made three quick three-pointers and lead 11-4 early before the Broncos fought back.
By the end of the first half, the Broncos had closed the Eagles to one, 17-16. Midway through the third quarter, the Broncos trailed by two when McNaughton and Adams tangled under the Eagle basket.
Officials called an intentional foul on San Juan, mistakenly attributing the foul to Ivins. By the time it was done, Duchesne had shot six free throws on technical and intentional fouls, Ivins had fouled out, and the Eagles hit a three-point shot. The lead grew from two to seven in a matter of seconds.
Despite the adversity, the Broncos fought back and trailed by just one, 31-30, in the closing moments of the third quarter. Tanner Stansfield scored ten of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for the Eagles, who pulled away to win 49-42.
For the game, the Broncos were led by Duke with 13, while McNaughton and Nieves each scored nine. Ivins scored six and Nielsen and Jaiten Knight each scored two.
The Broncos are 2-2 after two weeks of region play and will face the Grand Red Devils on Friday in Blanding.
The home court advantage is very real in Region 15, with the home team winning seven of eight games so far.
Other games for the week were Bayfield CO on January 14 and hosting Rockwell Academy on Saturday. Games will be broadcast on Redrock92and StreamUtah.Live.