DENDRON
The final score of the Franklin High School and Surry High School TriRivers basketball contest is a little misleading about the battle the Broncos and Cougars had. The final score ended up being 74-57 in favor of the Cougars, but going into the half, the Broncos only trailed by three, with a score of 34-31.

Late in the fourth quarter, Franklin had cut that lead to one on the back of performances by Quentin Lowe, who scored a career-high 21 points, and Darrien Duck, who posted 16 points.

However, Surry stepped it up on the defensive end late in the game, which in turn led to offense. The Cougars capped off two back-to-back steals by converting them into layups.

On the following two possessions, Surry held the Broncos scoreless, and on the other end they put up two 3-point attempts and connected on each.

“We played a really solid basketball game with tremendous effort against the number one team in our conference and a top 10 team in the state,” Broncos head coach Robby Cutchins said. “Surry returned a few players from last years’ Final Four team and they are a strong squad. I couldn’t be any prouder of the way we fought.

“Ultimately we made a couple of mistakes that led to the separation late in the fourth quarter. The bottom line is we are getting better as a basketball team and preparing for the playoffs.”

Freshman Markeen Tyler also put up double figures, chipping in 10 points.

The Broncos (7-10) will host Appomattox Regional Governor’s School on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tipoff.