Ray Conner
Sports Editor

It was a fruitful trip to Lone Pine for the junior varsity Broncs as they grabbed the victory 59-28.

Kern Valley (4-1) took control from the start and never looked back. To begin the game, the Broncs put up 14 points to the Eagles nine. By half time Kern Valley was enjoying a 25-12 cushion. Things continued to go well for the Broncs as they would cruise to a 44-23 margin after the third quarter and finished it off by adding 15 more points.

The Broncs shot an amazing 51 percent (19-of-37) from the field, hit 33 percent (4-of-12) from behind the three-point arc and at the charity stripe it was 81 percent (9-of-11).

Aaron LaFarga was the top points man for the Broncs as he poured in 14 points, including one three-pointer.

Tanner Cargile and Travis Gibson chipped in 10 points apiece, while Shane Russell just missed hitting double figures with nine points. Russell hit two from long-distance.

Garrett Hodge scored six points, while Corey Mixon had five points. John Chase dropped in a three-pointer for his three points, while Jeremy Lawson closed out the scoring with two points.

On the boards, Gibson completed his double-double as he grabbed a team high 16 rebounds.

Cole Frenes and Russell pulled down five boards, while Hodge was credited with four rebounds. Cargile, Lawson and Mixon each had three boards, while Chase recorded one rebound in the game.

Lawson handed out five assists to lead Kern Valley, while Gibson was credited with five blocked shots.

Head coach Nate Blue said, “This was an outstanding game for shooting efficiency at our level. The defense was strong and aggressive. This game sets the bar high, our goal is to improve in every game.”

Four days later, a strong Tehachapi team came calling and busted the Broncs bubble as they lost 57-29.

Kern Valley struggled to find the mark on offense and the Warriors found the range in the second quarter to pull away and cruise to the win.

The Broncs led 5-2 after the opening quarter, but were held to just six points to close out the first half trailing 20-11.

Coming out of the break, the Warriors continue to hit the mark, while the Broncs found the home court baffling as the offense continued to struggle. Tehachapi scored 28 points in the third and held Kern Valley to only eight to jump out to a 48-19 lead.

Kern Valley was led in scoring by Cargile with 12 points. LaFarga had seven points, including a three-pointer, while Russell had six points, including a three-pointer.

Hodge and Gibson rounded out the offense with two points apiece. On the boards, the Broncs had three players share the team lead.

Cargile, Hodge and Gibson each had five rebounds. Steven Strahl and Russell each grabbed four boards, while Mixon and LaFarga had three rebounds.

Chase and Frenes had one rebound each to wrap up the play on the boards.

Strahl and LaFarga were credited with two assists each, while Gibson handed out one assist.

Russell, Hodge and Gibson recorded two blocked shots apiece, while Russell led the team in steals with five.

Blue commented, “We had hoped to do better in our home opener. Kind of weird, we won the first and fourth quarters, but lost the second and third by 32 points combined.”

Kern Valley squared off against Cal City at home on Tuesday to begin the High Desert League and will take on Desert at home on Friday.