Men’s basketball got back on track with back-to-back wins at home this week. On Thursday night, the Broncos defeated the San Francisco State Gators, 65-54. Two days later, the Broncos demolished the Sonoma State Seawolves, 82-52.
On Thursday night, from start to finish, the Broncos were efficient in shooting the basketball as the team shot (22-for-50) 44% from the field.
“I thought it was one of those business-like wins, ugly on some parts but we played solid defense and offensively we were a little out of whack,” head coach Greg Kamansky said. “(The Gators) were changing their defense regularly, so it got us not too comfortable on certain things, but at this time of the year any win is big, so (I’m) very pleased, and it’s a start to recover from last week.”
“Turnovers tonight really helped us, we (turned) it over 21 times,” Kamansky continued. “I mean they outrebounded us 15 offensive boards. We keep talking about that if we are going to go anywhere in the postseason, we have got to rebound, and last weekend we got crushed on the board, and until we correct that problem we are going to force a lot of turnovers, so we did that tonight and that really helped us.”
Junior guards BJ Standley and Phoenix Shackelford, both with 18 points, led the Broncos in scoring. The only other Bronco with double figures in scoring was senior guard William Christmas, who had 12 points, along with four rebounds and four assists.
“I thought we did a good job defensively, we really competed and really just gave hard effort,” Standley said. “Tonight I just wanted to lead as a point guard, do what I’m supposed to do, find my teammates in the right spots, just play defense, rebound and do all the little things to help the team.”
Early in the first half, the Broncos got on the board with a series of baskets, which led to a 12-2 run.
Moments later, the Gators ended the Broncos’ run with a 3-pointer, which was the start of multiple baskets that brought them within six points.
Midway through the half, the Broncos’ dominance was evident as the team hit back-to-back shots that extended its lead to 13 points. During the final five minutes of the first half, the Broncos continued with the hot hand, and multiple jumpers helped them take an 11-point lead into the halftime.
“It was a good win, every win is a good win, there’s obviously some things we need to tighten up on, but obviously I’ll take a win over anything,” Shackelford said. “I think we have a good team this year, we have a lot of chemistry this year, we got a lot of upperclassmen so I’m excited for what’s in store.”
To start the second half, senior forward Justin Young got the Broncos on the board, but the Gators responded with an 11-4 run that brought them within five points of the Broncos.
The Broncos responded with an 8-0 run, which helped them extend their lead by 13 with eight minutes and 21 seconds left on the clock.
Within two minutes, Standley knocked down two free throws to give the Broncos their largest lead of the night by 15 points.
For the remaining six minutes, the Broncos continued their streak and scored 15 points, which led them to their 14th win of the season and 10th in the California Collegiate Athletic Association conference.
On Saturday, the Broncos defeated the Sonoma State Seawolves 82-52 in Kellogg Arena.
Shackelford led the Broncos with 14 points, while Schaefer trailed right behind with 13 points.
Sophomore Finn Eckhardt made a total of 10 points in Saturday’s match.
The Broncos made a season-high 16 3-pointers on 34 attempts.
The Broncos will return to action on Thursday, Feb. 6 when they travel to Arcata to take on the Humboldt State Lumberjacks.
