Basketball teams play in first two home games

The Broadus basketball teams hosted a pair of conference games over the weekend, the first against Ekalaka, on Friday, then against a dominant set of Melstone teams on Saturday. This duo of games would also be the first home games of the season for Broadus, presenting fans with a great opportunity to cheer on their teams, and the fans did not neglect their duties, filling the gym both nights.

Previous to the Christmas break, Broadus played Northern Cheyenne in Busby, the girls losing and the boys winning. Both teams also lost to Class B St. Labre before the Christmas Break.

Boys

The Broadus Hawk boys team went into the Ekalaka game with a plan to stop the Bulldog's star Junior, 6'4" Mick O' Connor, but when game time arrived O' Connor was in street clothes – he had hurt his ankle in practice and would not play. Unfortunately for Broadus, several other players stepped up for Ekalaka, giving Broadus a tough time throughout the game.

Broadus led for most of the first half, with the packed gym raucously supporting their team, while many Ekalaka fans made the trip over to support their Bulldogs. The third quarter started out well for the Hawks, but around half way through the third, Ekalaka seemed to find its groove, outscoring the Hawks 15-6 on the quarter, and taking away the lead.

Broadus fought back in the fourth quarter, and took back the lead with around three minutes remaining. In a series of plays eerily reminiscent of the Wibaux game a few weeks before, Broadus fought to a tie, and then fell behind when Ekalaka scored on an offensive rebound.

Ekalaka then pulled ahead, winning 51-47, after a last chance shot by Clay LaPlant didn't fall.

That offensive rebound by Ekalaka not only sealed the game, it was an indicator of the entire game, with Ekalaka pulling down 22 offensive rebounds.

"Ekalaka out-hustled us, and beat us on the boards, plain and simple," Broadus Head Coach Mike Richards commented on the game.

Despite the loss, Broadus showed that they were much improved over last season, and working their way forward in a positive direction. Kashus Giacometto led the Hawks with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Beau Kuhbacher sunk 3 three-pointers and contributed 13 total points.

On Saturday, Broadus faced a very tough Melstone team, which as of the weekend was ranked third in the state. Melstone also has Brody Grebe on their team, a talented 6'3" Senior who dominates opponents, and is an exciting player to watch – Grebe made two dunks during the game, including an alley oop dunk, which made the KULR-8 play of the week. His teammates are no slouches, either, with 6'8" Carson Hein bringing down rebounds, and Shayden Cooke going 4 for 5 from three-point land during the game.

With this sort of competition, it would have been understandable for the Hawks to seem a bit intimidated, but it sure didn't show in the Hawks' play, as Broadus players performed well, even with Kashus Giacometto out with a twisted ankle from an earlier practice, which he re-aggravated late in the Ekalaka game. Beau Kuhbacher seemed to be on fire from three point land, but unfortunately his toe was on the line for several of the shots. Beau still put down 15 points from long range, with Johnny Richards adding another pair of three pointers.

Broadus fell behind mid-way through the first quarter and stayed behind, eventually losing 37-82 in a dominant performance for Melstone.

Richards said that Melstone's Coach Jason Grebe had a lot of positive things to say about the Broadus team, noting their significant improvement over the last time Broadus faced Melstone.

Broadus is now 1-3 in the conference, with Melstone leading at 6-0. In between are Ekalaka and Wibaux, at 4-2, and Jordan at 3-2. This means that with a win this weekend against Wibaux, and one next week against Jordan, Broadus will be right back in contention.

Broadus hosts Wibaux on Friday, then travels to Hysham on Saturday to face Custer/ Hysham.

Girls

The Broadus girls team had a tough go over the weekend, facing an experienced Ekalaka team, which returned nearly the entire team from their State Tournament run last year. The Lady Bulldogs put the heat on early, going up 26-2 in the first quarter, winning the game 67-20. Kiarah Coulter had 8 points and 7 rebounds for the Lady Hawks, while 8th grader Abi Krantz contributed 6 points and 7 rebounds.

"We fell apart against Ekalaka," Broadus Coach Kacey Stanley commented. "Ekalaka moves the ball well, and works together well, and we just couldn't match them. We had a lot of troubles with passing, and some first home game jitters, which all contributed to the loss."

On Saturday, the Lady Hawks improved their performances, running a better offense and a much better defense through the first half against Melstone.

Broadus led through much of the first quarter, finishing the half down one, 17-16, and re-taking the lead in the third. During the third quarter, two important things happened: Kiarah Coulter had to leave the game for a time due to a floor burn which began bleeding, and Melstone's Draya Wacker came alive, eventually contributing 22 points.

At that point, Broadus fell off the map, only scoring 5 points in the third quarter, and 2 points in the fourth, while Melstone had 24 and 11 points, respectively. The Melstone Broncs would win the game 52-23.

The Lady Hawks will face a very tough Wibaux team here this weekend, while Custer/ Hysham should be a good game. Stanley says Custer/ Hysham has one player to watch out for, so the Lady Hawks will try and shut her down.

Stats from the games may be found at the following link:

https://www.powderriverexaminer.com/home/customer_files/stats/1_10_19_stats_pdf.pdf