Longhorns fend off Bronchos

GRADY - The Bronchos had an upset brewing because of their strategy, but the state-ranked Logan boys basketball team fended it off Thursday during a 70-60 district victory.

Logan, ranked fifth in Class 1A, previously defeated Grady 84-57 during the Dora Tournament in early December, with Logan's Dyson Day scoring 18 points. Bronchos athletic director Alicia Rush, who led the team in place of Jonathan Langan after an ejection the previous game kept him from coaching Thursday, said her squad was determined to corral Day.

"We face-guarded No. 13, the Day kid, because he is a difference-maker and he creates a lot of opportunities. We tried to slow him down and make the rest of them beat us," said Rush, a former longtime girls basketball coach.

It nearly worked. Day scored just three points Thursday, and the Bronchos (5-13, 1-2 in district) trailed just 56-54 with three minutes remaining.

Longhorns teammate Dante Sanchez compensated for Day with a game-high 29 points, including two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter when the Bronchos threatened. Kyle Knight added 16 points for the Longhorns.

"It was one of those games where it was kind of a struggle," Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. "But we had a few guys step up at key moments. We had to have that because they tried to shut Dyson down. I'm proud of our guys for fighting and coming out with a victory."

Rush wasn't too dissatisfied about the loss.

"I was super-proud of the boys," she said. "This was a moral victory for us."

Six-foot-3 junior power forward Chisum Rush, Alicia's son, led the Bronchos with 25 points and several blocked shots.

Griffiths didn't give in to the temptation of putting a defensive chaser on Rush, the Bronchos' top scorer this season.

"We just tried to play him straight up and try to help (on defense) whenever we could," Griffiths said. "He's a good player, for sure."

The first half featured five lead changes. Grady rushed to a 9-5 lead in the first quarter, prompting Griffiths to call a timeout to regroup.

Logan rallied in the second quarter for a 29-22 lead, but the Bronchos went on an 8-1 run to close the period and tie the game 30-30.

Logan twice surged to double-digit leads in the second half, only to see the Bronchos rally. Grady saw several opportunities to tie or take the lead in the fourth quarter but missed several field-goal attempts near the basket.

"It would have been a different game if we'd made the little chip shots," Alicia Rush said.

After Grady closed the gap to 56-54, Sanchez twice connected from behind the 3-point line to give Logan a 62-54 advantage with less than two minutes left. The Bronchos never got closer than six points after that.

Logan 62, Fort Sumner 59

Logan racked up another crucial district win by edging host Fort Sumner 62-59 on Saturday night.

The Longhorns improved to 17-4 overall and 4-0 in district play.

"We made some big plays down the stretch and hit some free throws," Griffiths said. "Defensively, we made some key stops."

Sanchez scored 20 points to lead the Longhorns, while Day added 16 and Jordan Evans nine.

The Foxes, ranked second in Class 1A, fell to 16-7 overall and 4-1 in the district.

Melrose 78, Grady 51

Little went right for the visiting Bronchos during a 78-51 loss to Melrose on Jan. 29. The Buffaloes, ranked third in Class 1A, improved to 13-5 and 1-2 in district play.