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Ponoka Broncs struck by Hunting Hills lightning

It was tough going for the Broncs senior boys and girls basketball teams who couldn’t find a win at home.
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Senior Broncs player Karson Mathieu takes a tackle Feb. 7 during a game against Hunting Hill High School. The Broncs ended up losing 69-40.

It was tough going for the Broncs senior boys and girls basketball teams who couldn’t find a win at home.

The Broncs played the Hunting Hills High School Lightning Feb. 7 with the senior boys losing 69-40 but having slightly more success than the girls.

The boys played a tough HHHS team who were bigger and more experienced. That didn’t stop the Broncs from putting in their best effort, however, with a solid third quarter performance. Coach Tylor Johannesson said in an email that having two key players back from injury helped reduce the points gap.

“We actually won the third quarter against Hunting (Hills) and only lost the first by six (points). Our problem was we lost the second 22-3 (points),” said Johannesson.

At this point in the season the team is used to paying against bigger teams. Where it becomes a challenge is coming up against a bigger team they haven’t played in some time.

Against Lightning, the Broncs boys struggled to get rebounds and were blocked out by the bigger players but Johannesson suggests that will change over time.

“I love seeing guys like Brennan Waldron boxing out a guy 80 pounds heavier, that’s the effort I can’t teach and it will pay off in the future.”

Improvements are happening, added Johannesson.

“Our press break has been breaking at a 90 per cent rate over the last month. That’s a huge increase from the Wetaskiwin game where we only broke 34 per cent of presses and turned the ball over numerous times for easy layups,” he explained.

Having strong three-point shooters is helping the team in overall points and is setting the team up for a playoff battle against Wetaskiwin. A win there would be a boost for the team, says Johannesson.

The girls played first and were in for a tough game losing 79-29.

Their best quarters were the first and last where the team scored 10 points in each quarter. HHHS managed to hold the Broncs to two points in the second and seven in the third.

Coach Cameron Horan said it was clear partway through the first quarter that the Broncs were out-sized. “Once they started to go down low they really started to pull away,” said Horan.

“That, and our numerous turnovers,” he added referring to being unable to capitalize and score.

Despite the challenges the Broncs stayed in the game and didn’t give up. His hope is the girls will be able to prepare and be ready for playoffs.

The Broncs have two games this week with the first played Feb. 14 against Stettler (results not available) and then again Feb. 16 against Lacombe, which will also feature senior’s night where the Grade 12 players are recognized.