Lind-Ritzville/Sprague boys finish third

SPOKANE VALLEY — The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Washtucna/Harrington Bronco boys are finding their gallop at the right time. That was evident in the District 7 2B 3rd/4th Place game last weekend, when the Broncos pulled away from the St. George’s Dragons 64-46 at West Valley High School Saturday, Feb. 11.

The win secured a “home” game for the Broncos in the District 6/7 Crossover next weekend.

The Broncos “Big Three” of Jayce Kelly, Chase Galbreath and Hunter Dinkins ran the show against the Dragons, who had no response to the kicks the Broncos repeatedly tossed out.

Kelly led all scorers with 20 points, while Dinkins hit five threes en route to a 17-point effort. Galbreath contributed 15 points and seven rebounds.

“They were huge. Chase and JT have been doing that all year. Hunter…that might’ve been his best game offensively all year,” Coach Dustan Arlt said. “It was just a great team effort. Everyone that went in that game did something positive and contributed.”

St. George’s shot out to a fast start behind eight points from Shawn Jones and led 16-15 after a quarter, but a 17-9 second quarter by the Broncos behind 14 points from Kelly turned the tide.

The Broncos then outscored St. George’s 32-21 in the second half and were never truly challenged in the final 16 minutes.

Jones was held to just two points in the final three quarters. Tanner Watkins scored 16 points to lead the Dragons.

The Broncos will face Okanogan, District 6’s third-place finisher, in a crossover game to go to state Saturday, Feb. 18 back at West Valley High School.

They should have plenty of added motivation beyond the allure of a state playoff berth, as the Bulldogs ended the Broncos’ hopes of a playoff run in football last November.

“They’re big. Fortunately we’re going to get it here,” Arlt said. “It’s a tough matchup. They’re the ones that knocked us out in football, so that might motivate our boys a little bit. We’re playing really good basketball right now, so we’re excited and we’ll take them on.”

Tip-off from West Valley is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.