Eagles get revenge against Broncs

As the final shot bounced off the rim, the Kern Valley Broncs stormed the court after capturing the 2016 CIF Central Section Divison V championship over FC, 57-54. This was the scene last year at Selland Arena when the Eagles and Broncs squared off. FC looked to get revenge on Kern Valley in the quarterfinal matchup in the FC gym, Feb. 24.  The Broncs kept the game close but in the end, the Eagles prevailed, 68-54.

Despite the Eagles scoring first Kern Valley put up a fight throughout the first half. FC and the Broncs traded baskets back and forth throughout the beginning of the game. Neither team could gain a huge advantage but the Eagles led at the end of the opening quarter, 17-13.

The Eagles had trouble containing Zach Bushling, ’17, and Jacob McCollough, ’17, as the Broncs took the lead in the second quarter. The two teams continued to score consecutively, going through multiple lead changes. At the end of the second quarter, Matt Muniz, ’17, hit a buzzer beater three-pointer for the Eagles to give them the lead at halftime, 36-33.

Coming out of halftime the Eagles changed up their defense and stalled the Kern Valley offense. The Eagles outscored the Broncs, 13-2, in the third quarter. Kern Valley did not make a single shot from the field in the quarter. Their only points came on two free throws from Bushling. 

Heading into the fourth quarter it looked as if the Eagles had captured the victory. All that was left to do was hold on to the lead. FC did exactly that as both teams finished off the game scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter. 

Bushling and McCollough led the Broncs in scoring with 34 and 15 points, respectively. Daniel Walker, ’17, had 25 points for FC. Three-point shooting was a big help to the Eagles offense as Nick LeBlanc, ’17, had five three-pointers and Muniz had three. LeBlanc was excited to get a second chance against Kern Valley and was confident his ability to shoot the ball.

“The win over Kern Valley was a huge confidence boost for the team,” LeBlanc said. “It was nice to get a little payback for last year’s Valley championship loss. I came off a game in which I hit some big shots, so I was confident that I could repeat my performance.”

The Eagles next game is against Caruthers High School in the semifinals. LeBlanc believes that the team needs to take the next matchup seriously and not look ahead to the championship game.

“For Caruthers, we need to come out faster and get them down early,” LeBlanc said. “A lot of us are looking ahead to Selland already but we need to take care of business against Caruthers first.”

The Eagles will host the semifinal matchup against Caruthers. This will be the third time the two teams have met this season. Both matchups have seen the Eagles win by as little as six points and by as much as 20. The game will be in the FC gym at 8 p.m., March. 1.

If FC wins the semifinal game they will play at Selland Arena for the CIF Central Section Divison V championship, March 4.

Ticket Prices:

Seniors (65+) $5

Students $5

Adults $7

To read another article check out: Boys take up racquets for tennis season.

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @Phillip11499 and via email: Phillip Christopher.