Some bad breaks off the rim combined with a lack of rebound control left Ponoka boys behind when they hosted Hunting Hill from Red Deer on Wednesday, Feb 10.
The Ponoka Secondary junior varsity boys basketball squad couldn’t get the ball past the rim and then struggled gathering in rebounds at both ends of the floor during their 51-28 loss at home.
Head coach Ryan Newman stated the team’s offence has been coming along lately.
“However, the boys struggled to finish on their lay-ups, rebounds, shots. The rims were definitely against us,” Newman said.
“Our rebounding has definitely come along since the beginning of the season. However, boxing out consistently is something that we continue to struggle with. We are a relatively small team, so it is essential that we continue to develop this skill, especially against a larger team.”
He added that as Hunting Hills began to more and more pressure on the Broncs offence, “some of our inexperience began to show with multiple forced shots.”
Also making it tougher on his squad was having to compete against a larger school that has a much larger pool of kids to draw from.
“That said, I was really impressed with my players in the fact that they fought hard to the end. This is a life long skill that these young men are doing a great job of developing,” Newman said.
He also pointed out that Seth Longjohn played his best game of the season, remaining relentless both offensively and defensively throughout.
The Broncs are next in action tonight at 6 p.m. when they take on Stettler at home.