The Clovis North Broncos left Clovis High still searching for their first win in 2020 after the Broncos boys basketball team defeated the Cougars 84-47 on Tuesday night. By the time the Cougars take the court again, it will have been 41 days since their last win.
This is the eleventh straight loss for the Cougars, who have been outscored 788 to 582 in this winless drought. The Cougars have come narrowly close to wins on multiple occasions in this streak, though; they took Central to overtime and forced Buchanan to make a fourth-quarter comeback to edge out a two-point victory on January 31.
The first quarter looked promising for the Cougars to find a much-needed win. They lead the game by five points midway through the quarter and had the Broncos flailing underneath the net and unable to find clean passes.
The Cougars’ time in front was short-lived, however. Clovis North’s Blake Freeman drilled a corner three-pointer in the quarter’s waning seconds to give the Broncos a 14-12 lead. It was a lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the night.
The Broncos steamrolled to a 50-26 lead at halftime and a fourth-quarter where the Cougars were limited to just seven points by a Broncos team with Terri Miller that controlled the court from baseline to baseline. The Cougars at one point in the quarter nearly began a play with just four men on the court.
“We had a bad start and then I thought we picked up in the next three quarter.” Broncos head coach Tony Amundsen said after the game.
Amundsen added that the team, “took better shots and worked the ball better,” later in the game which helped the team play more efficiently.
The Broncos had 12 players score points throughout the game, that’s a staggering 63% of the Clovis North roster that contributed to their impressive 84-point total.
Niko Jones’ monumental second quarter helped him lead the team in points. The sophomore point guard had 12 points in just the second quarter and added another two points in the second half to leave him with 14 points on the night.
Following tonight’s game, the Broncos will host Central and Buchanan to end their regular season. The Cougars, meanwhile, played their final road game tonight and will play Clovis East and Clovis West at home. Both teams are back in action on Friday, Jan. 7.