Broncos win a big one against conference rival

Published 10:30 am Wednesday, February 1, 2017

SURRY
The Broncos started a rough three-night stretch in a row of road games in Surry against their conference rival, the Cougars of Surry County High School. The Broncos would use a couple of 3-point buckets by Deuntae Jefferson and Jaquan Wilkerson to trail 13-12 after the first frame.

Although the Broncos trailed 26-21 at the break, they would only score six buckets throughout the second and third quarters combined. leaving them to face an 11-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter with the Cougars leading 38-27.

With the Broncos trailing by 11, Coach Robby Cutchins and the team had to make changes defensively trying to create some offense to get back in the game. The changes worked right away as the players wreaked havoc all over the floor.

The Broncos would force eight fourth-quarter turnovers by the Cougars, which changed the momentum tremendously. That led to an offensive surge in the fourth quarter by juniors Nyjey Pope and De’Vian Worthy, who combined for 16 points in the last frame.

Pope would knock down consecutive 3-pointers for all of his nine points coming in the last quarter, and Worthy would see all of his scoring in the final frame as well, as he chipped in with eight points.

Ford and Jefferson would seal the deal for the Broncos from the charity stripe as both would combine to go 7-7 down the stretch for a 26-point fourth quarter and a 53-50 win over the Cougars.

“This shows the resilience and never-quit mentality that these young men have,” said Cutchins after the game. “To be backed up against the wall as we were entering the fourth quarter and to still be able to make the adjustments necessary and believe in one another to get the job done just speaks volumes for this group. Adversity is something we continuously talk about and once again they responded and I’m so proud of these guys!”

The Broncos were led by a pair of “double-double” contributors: Deuntae Jefferson led all scorers with 14 points and dished out 11 assists. Drelyn Ford had another double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

The Broncos returned home for a three-game stretch to conclude the regular season. They faced Sussex Central on Tuesday, the Dukes of Windsor on Thursday, and conclude the regular season on Senior Night, Friday, Feb. 3, against Brunswick High School.