Junior hoopsters bounce Broncos

The Muskie junior boys’ basketball squad turned their season around so quickly, they may have suffered whiplash.
After losing their first two games of the NorWOSSA campaign by a combined 46 points, the black-and-gold (1-2) battled to an impressive 55-46 victory over the visiting Kenora Broncos last Thursday at “The Fish Tank.”
“We struggled a bit at first this season, but we’ve got it together now,” said Kyle Perrott, who dominated down low for the Muskies at both ends of the floor as he racked up a game-high 18 points to go along with a bushel of rebounds.
“We were trying to work more on our give-and-go game today. We’re gaining more confidence all the time,” he added.
The most stunning aspect wasn’t the Muskies posting season bests in both points scored and fewest points allowed, but that the win came just two games after the Broncos routed Fort High 59-26 to open the season there Dec. 11.
The Muskie transition from defence to offence proved to be a nightmare for the Broncos from the outset. Andrew Dobie netted 10 of his 12 points in the opening quarter with a combination of fast-break lay-ups and rainbow-like jump shots to give Fort High a 14-6 lead.
Perrott then began his workmanlike effort, defying his opponents to move him from underneath the basket as he collected eight points in the second quarter to stretch the lead to 29-18 at halftime.
The Broncos—led by Lynn Osbourne with eight points—tried to catch the Muskies napping at the beginning of the third quarter, taking advantage of the quintet of mainly back-ups that Fort High coach Claude Gagnon started the second half with.
Kenora made a steal for a lay-up on their opening possession, then forced Fort High into a five-second violation on the subsequent in-bounds play.
A Muskie foul on the following play led to four of the five players being yanked in favour of the starters—and the black-and-gold settled down after that.
In the fourth quarter, Fort High ran the lead up as high as 51-34 before Kenora went on a 6-0 run to cut the gap to 11. The Broncos would get no closer, though, except for a last-second fluke three-pointer that closed out the scoring.
< *c>Seniors sizzling
Meanwhile, it was a case of the good times continuing to roll for the Muskie senior boys’ basketball crew as they upped their record to 3-0 with a 61-51 defeat of the Broncos here last Thursday.
Kevin Gemmell shook off a scoreless first quarter to lead the home side with 21 points while Andrew Mueller was a more than competent sidekick with 17 of his own.
“Andrew had a solid game for us,” said Muskie coach Paul Noonan, who was without veteran forward Cullan McGinnis (back). “We started him for the first time today, and we’re really happy with how it turned out.
“He definitely rose to the occasion.”
The Muskies led 28-23 at halftime, extended the margin to 46-36 after three quarters, and then traded baskets for the rest of the game with the Broncos, who were led by Glen Williams (14 points) and Mitch Kinger (10).
Both Fort High squads host Dryden tomorrow in NorWOSSA games, with the seniors then heading to Kenora for a weekend tournament.
Tomorrow’s games originally were scheduled to be played in Dryden, but they had to be moved after a leak in the gym’s ceiling there worked its way underneath the floor boards, causing the gym floor to swell.
Repairs are estimated to take about three weeks.