Broncos Have Early Christmas
AUBURN HILLS - North Branch Coach Jim Marshall and his Bronco boy’s basketball team earned an early Christmas present Tuesday evening. The Broncos unwrapped from their cold winter gear to defeat the Yale Bulldogs 55-46 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, before the Pistons victory over the Chicago Bulls.
“You come down here and want it to be a good experience for the kids,” stated Marshall of playing at The Palace. “You want to get them all in and probably sub more than you normally would. In general, you want to have fun, get everyone in the game and hopefully win the game.”
“It was fun. The kids got to play on a bigger court and see a couple of NBA players,” said Yale Coach Brad Dykstra.
North Branch started quick. The first quarter was there best offensive quarter of the night, and their man-to-man press was key to holding the Bulldogs to only one field goal in the first 4:21 of the game. The Broncos quick start was keyed by senior Mike Keith and junior Chris White. Keith scored four of six points in the first, while White scored all four of his points in the quarter. North Branch led 17-13 after one quarter.
“I thought defensively we played pretty well. I am happy that our best defense is man-to-man,” said Marshall. “Offensively we executed well in the first half, but I think we still have a little of the turnover bug.”
Even though Yale’s shooting woes continued in the second quarter, their defense was top priority. The Bulldog defense created turnovers, which led to easy buckets. Taylor Wynne and Mark Willard were recipients of the easy buckets, as each Bulldog scored in transition. Wynne finished with three points and Willard finished with four. The Yale defense would hold North Branch without a point for the final 2:37 of the half, as the Bulldogs cut into the lead trailing 28-25 at the half.
“This was the first time a long time that our second quarter was better than our first,” said Dykstra. “It is something that we are trying to work at. I think they were a little nervous at the beginning, and then settled down and come out in the second quarter with a different attitude and more focus.”
“I bet if we played this game somewhere else in a normal gym, both teams would have shot better.”
North Branch’s defense started the third quarter on a mission. They held Yale without a field goal for the first 5:29 of the period. The Bronco’s could not pull away and allowed the Bulldogs back into the game was Brad Goeschel scored six of his game-high 18 points in the final 2:31. The lead stayed at three for North Branch, as they led 40-37 after three.
“I think we let them hang around,” said Marshall of his team’s inability to put the game away. “We could never get the lead to around 10-12 and really put the game away. We have a lot of work to do yet.”
North Branch’s man-to-man defense once again was key in the fourth quarter. They held Yale without a field goal for the first 5:11 of the quarter and without a point for 4:09 of that streak. This time though Broncos seniors Luc Bonner, Justin Calvert, and Deane Baker combined to score all fifteen of the Bronco fourth quarter points to finally put the game out of reach for Yale. Bonner scored three of his 10 points in the quarter, all coming at the free-throw line. Calvert scored seven of his team-high 13 in the quarter, and Baker scored five of this 12 in the quarter.
“We have had pretty good balance,” said Marshall. “That is the thing about this team. We do not have just one guy. We have a lot of guys who can score. We will probably have four or five guys in the 10-12 point range, which is a big strength for us.”
“We will get better as the season moves forward,” said Dykstra.
North Branch 55 – Stawecki 1 0-0 2, L. Bonner 2 6-8 10, Calvert 6 1-2 13, C. Bonner 0 0-0 0, Baker 3 4-5 12, Keith 3 0-0 6, White 2 0-0 4, Ferkowicz 1 0-0 2, Peplinski 0 0-0 0, Kosko 0 1-2 1, Griffin 1 0-0 2, Dudley 0 0-0 0, Veskivalie 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 12-17 55.
Yale 46 – Pilarski 2 2-5 6, Suhoof 0 0-0 0, Marginet 1 0-0 2, Brandy 0 0-0 0, Porrett 0 0-0 0, Edgerton 2 2-2 8, Bricker 0 0-0 0, Wynne 1 1-2 3, Goeschel 7 4-5 18, Willard 1 2-2 4, Cook 2 1-2 5, Loeffler 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 12-18 46.
North Branch 17 11 12 15 -- 55
Yale 13 12 12 9 -- 46
3-point goals – North Branch: Baker (2), Veskivalie. Yale: Edgerton (2).
“You come down here and want it to be a good experience for the kids,” stated Marshall of playing at The Palace. “You want to get them all in and probably sub more than you normally would. In general, you want to have fun, get everyone in the game and hopefully win the game.”
“It was fun. The kids got to play on a bigger court and see a couple of NBA players,” said Yale Coach Brad Dykstra.
North Branch started quick. The first quarter was there best offensive quarter of the night, and their man-to-man press was key to holding the Bulldogs to only one field goal in the first 4:21 of the game. The Broncos quick start was keyed by senior Mike Keith and junior Chris White. Keith scored four of six points in the first, while White scored all four of his points in the quarter. North Branch led 17-13 after one quarter.
“I thought defensively we played pretty well. I am happy that our best defense is man-to-man,” said Marshall. “Offensively we executed well in the first half, but I think we still have a little of the turnover bug.”
Even though Yale’s shooting woes continued in the second quarter, their defense was top priority. The Bulldog defense created turnovers, which led to easy buckets. Taylor Wynne and Mark Willard were recipients of the easy buckets, as each Bulldog scored in transition. Wynne finished with three points and Willard finished with four. The Yale defense would hold North Branch without a point for the final 2:37 of the half, as the Bulldogs cut into the lead trailing 28-25 at the half.
“This was the first time a long time that our second quarter was better than our first,” said Dykstra. “It is something that we are trying to work at. I think they were a little nervous at the beginning, and then settled down and come out in the second quarter with a different attitude and more focus.”
“I bet if we played this game somewhere else in a normal gym, both teams would have shot better.”
North Branch’s defense started the third quarter on a mission. They held Yale without a field goal for the first 5:29 of the period. The Bronco’s could not pull away and allowed the Bulldogs back into the game was Brad Goeschel scored six of his game-high 18 points in the final 2:31. The lead stayed at three for North Branch, as they led 40-37 after three.
“I think we let them hang around,” said Marshall of his team’s inability to put the game away. “We could never get the lead to around 10-12 and really put the game away. We have a lot of work to do yet.”
North Branch’s man-to-man defense once again was key in the fourth quarter. They held Yale without a field goal for the first 5:11 of the quarter and without a point for 4:09 of that streak. This time though Broncos seniors Luc Bonner, Justin Calvert, and Deane Baker combined to score all fifteen of the Bronco fourth quarter points to finally put the game out of reach for Yale. Bonner scored three of his 10 points in the quarter, all coming at the free-throw line. Calvert scored seven of his team-high 13 in the quarter, and Baker scored five of this 12 in the quarter.
“We have had pretty good balance,” said Marshall. “That is the thing about this team. We do not have just one guy. We have a lot of guys who can score. We will probably have four or five guys in the 10-12 point range, which is a big strength for us.”
“We will get better as the season moves forward,” said Dykstra.
North Branch 55 – Stawecki 1 0-0 2, L. Bonner 2 6-8 10, Calvert 6 1-2 13, C. Bonner 0 0-0 0, Baker 3 4-5 12, Keith 3 0-0 6, White 2 0-0 4, Ferkowicz 1 0-0 2, Peplinski 0 0-0 0, Kosko 0 1-2 1, Griffin 1 0-0 2, Dudley 0 0-0 0, Veskivalie 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 12-17 55.
Yale 46 – Pilarski 2 2-5 6, Suhoof 0 0-0 0, Marginet 1 0-0 2, Brandy 0 0-0 0, Porrett 0 0-0 0, Edgerton 2 2-2 8, Bricker 0 0-0 0, Wynne 1 1-2 3, Goeschel 7 4-5 18, Willard 1 2-2 4, Cook 2 1-2 5, Loeffler 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 12-18 46.
North Branch 17 11 12 15 -- 55
Yale 13 12 12 9 -- 46
3-point goals – North Branch: Baker (2), Veskivalie. Yale: Edgerton (2).
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