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Broncos topple Memphis
The Bronco varsity made short work of the Memphis Cyclones defeating them 70-29 on the road last Friday night. The win was the first of the district season for the Broncos.
They will host Wellington at home on Friday, January 20, beginning at 8 p.m. On January 24, they will take on Wheeler at home.
Lyric Smith got the best of the Cyclones and scored 26 points that included one three-pointer and scoring five out of nine free throws. Tyler Harper joined Smith in double figures with 13 points. The Broncos took control early on and never looked back. They hit shot after shot and their solid defensive play frustrated the Cyclones who struggled to find the basket. Anthony Ceniceros went two for two from the bonus line and finished with nine points. Jmaury Davis and Josiah Hearn added eight points each, and Kaleb Bolin helped with six.
Earlier in the week, the Broncos narrowly lost to a very physical Childress team 38-46 that included a heavy-duty defensive effort by both teams.
The game stayed fairly even through three quarters, but Childress gained a six-point advantage going into the final eight minutes. The Broncos never gave up but were not able to close the gap.
Smith finished with 18, and Davis had 16. Hearn and Harper had two points apiece.
Lady Broncos beat Quanah, Memphis
The Lady Broncos had a big week as they posted a win at home over Quanah and destroyed Memphis on the road to put them at 3-0 in district play.
The game with the Quanah Lady Indians was close at 49-40, but the Lady Broncos annihilated the Lady Cyclones 81-20.
The game with Quanah was close early on, but a strong second quarter allowed the ladies to pull away until the final quarter of play when the Lady Indians began to narrow the gap. Leading by 16 points, the Lady Broncos seemed to have the game in hand, but Quanah staged a small comeback attempt that brought them within nine of the Lady Broncos. But the strength of Clarendon’s shooting game and their quick defense gave them the confidence they needed to stay the course.
They were also able to finish with a strong free throw percentage at 78 percent.
Senior Baylee Gabel turned up the heat and posted 12 points in the game that included one three-pointer and making three of four free throws, and Courtlyn Conkin and Finley Cunningham followed with nine each. Makenna Shadle had six, Hayden Elam put in five, and Kenidee Hayes had four. Berkley Moore hit one three-pointer, and Kennadie Cummins put in one.
The Lady Broncos played so solid at Memphis that the Lady Cyclones did not have a chance to stop Clarendon’s strong and aggressive offensive attack.
The scoring was spread throughout the entire team, which gave them several options on the court. The ladies were able to do anything they wanted on both ends of the court and take their time to execute the plays. Freshman Kenidee Hayes was strong in the first quarter and put in six of her total 12 points in the game, and senior stand out Finley Cunningham hit two big three-pointers in that second eight minutes while holding Memphis to only seven first half points.
The Lady Cyclones were completely stifled by the Lady Bronco defense and could not put points on the board. Clarendon caused their opponent several turnovers and were able to convert them to points.
Moore led the way with 15, and Hayes had 12. Elam put in 11, and Cunningham and Graci Smith had nine each. Conkin put in eight, Shadle had six, Gabel finished with five, and Tandie and Kennadie Cummins had three apiece.
The Lady Broncos will take on Wellington at home on Friday.
Broncos up-end Falcons, 70-42
Clarendon senior Jmaury Davis accomplished back-to-back dunks in the Broncos’ 70-42 romp at home last week in front of a very boisterous Bronco crowd. Fellow senior Josiah Hearn’s two big shots from outside the arc early on got the crowd into the game early.
Full of big plays all night long, the Broncos caused Bushland to turn over the ball repeatably that they were able to capitalize on. The Broncos looked like a team beginning to gel which allowed them to have a good overall performance.
Five players combined to convert seven three-pointers (three by Hearn) and shoot 78 percent from the free throw line. Besides Smith and Hearn, Tyler Harper, Anthony Ceniceros, and Kaleb Bolin all posted one three-pointer in the game. The Broncos’ hustle and aggressiveness served them well on offense and defense and allowed them the big win.
Smith led the way with 23, Hearn had 16, and Davis put in 10. Harper had nine, Ceniceros added five, and Bolin three. Fresh off an ankle injury, Harrison Howard put in two and was joined by Levi Gates from his inside post position.
The Broncos will begin District play on Friday, January 13, in Memphis and travel to Shamrock on January 17.
Lady Broncos open district with win
The Lady Bronco basketball team is continuing to work hard to achieve a goal of a District Championship as they have their first win of the district season. They took on Wheeler on the road last week and had no trouble getting the 61-32 win.
The ladies were determined to put four good quarters together and they were able to do that with a great job to open the game with the starting five and Berkley Moore who came off the bench and hit two huge three-pointers. Holding a three-point lead after the first eight minutes, the Lady Broncos turned up the heat in the second quarter to score 25 game-breaking points that included threes from Moore and solid shooters Finley Cunningham and Courtlyn Conkin.
Wheeler struggled to put points on the board and were helpless to stop the scoring attack by the Lady Broncos. The Lady Stangs found themselves in foul trouble and sent Clarendon to the line several times. Out of fifteen shots at the bonus line, the Lady Broncos put in twelve for 80 percent with Baylee Gable and Kennadie Cummins hitting 100 percent.
Moore led the way with 14, Kenidee Hayes had 11, and Gabel put in 10. Makenna Shadle had eight, Conkin and Cunningham finished with five, Graci Smith had three, Tandie Cummins put in two, and K. Cummins had one.
Earlier in the week, the ladies took on Palo Duro; and despite fighting hard, they fell short at 44-55 in a game that was closer than the score reveals.
It was a dog fight all the way and just as the Lady Broncos would gain ground, the Lady Dons would fight back. The Lady Broncos showed great team play and determination despite the outcome. Cunningham, who is always solid, dropped five three-pointers to lead the way with 17 and Gabel added 14. Hayden Elam had four, Hayes and Conkin had three each, Shadle put in two, and T. Cummins had one.
Over the holidays, the Lady Broncos finished second in the Littlefield Tournament. The ladies had wins over Sundown and Portales, NM before losing to Levelland. The Lady Broncos defeated Sundown 49-45 using a big second quarter to control the scoring. Cunningham put in 11 points, and Conkin and Gabel had nine each.
The game with Portales was a nail-biter the entire 32 minutes with the ladies taking the win by two points at 42-40.
Another strong second eight minutes scoring 17 points gave the ladies the momentum before the break. Cunningham led with 11 points.
Needing a strong finish in the final game, the Lady Broncos struggled to stop Levelland before halftime as they took a 11-point lead into the final half of play. They were able to stay solid offensively but could not keep Levelland away from the goal.
Conkin had 14, Elam put in 10, and Shadle added nine in the Lady Broncos’ second-place finish.
Lady Broncos win White Deer tourney
For the second weekend in a row, the Lady Broncos brought home the tournament championship. Participating in the White Deer Tournament, Clarendon defeated five teams to get the win.
Follett was up first for the ladies, and they won. 59-20. After the first eight minutes, the ladies were not contested by their opponent, and they were able to execute their game plan with ease to get the win. Baylee Gabel put in 14 points and Finley Cunningham added nine. Hayden Elam and Berkley Moore each put in seven and Gracie Clark had six. The game with Happy was much closer and the Lady Broncos had to work to get the win. A huge third quarter made a big difference and gave the ladies the edge to close it out. Once again it was Gabel who led the way on the scoreboard with 14 and Graci Smith put in seven.
The Lady Broncos played White Deer and breezed by them 54-24. A great second quarter put the ladies in a great position as they were able to do whatever they needed to do on the court. Cunningham put in 14 that included four three-pointers, Kenidee Hayes and Gabel added 10, and T. Cummins helped with six. The game with McLean went much the same way as the previous game and the Lady Broncos won 71-41. The Lady Tigers only trailed by one after the first eight minutes, but the Lady Broncos were able to run their offense and hit the big points. Cunningham hit six three-pointers and finish with 20 points, and Gabel and Moore had 12 each. Makenna Shadle and K. Cummins posted eight each.
In the championship game, the Lady Broncos matched up against Sunray. A huge second quarter sealed the win as they outscored the Lady Bobcats by 24 points. Presley Smith turned up the heat and finished with 14, Elam had 13, and Cunningham put in 10.
The Lady Broncos turned up the heat on the Vega Longhorns at home earlier in the week defeating them 62-22. Elam and Gabel finished in double figures in the game with 13 and 11 points respectively. Elam also made three of five from the bonus line, and Gabel added two big shots from behind the arc.
Vega was defenseless against the Lady Broncos as they were able to execute offensively to get the job done. Nine different Lady Broncos came through on the offense ends of the court to add to the point total. The Lady Longhorns struggled all of the way and only put six points on the scoreboard in the first half. Clarendon was able to cover the court end to end to cause turnovers and make stops.
Courtlyn Conkin was perfect from the free throw line and finished with eight points and Moore hit one three and helped with seven and Cunningham added seven of her own. K. Cummins put in six, Smith had five, Hayes hit one three, and T. Cummins put in two.
The Lady Broncos will play Canadian on Friday, December 16, against Canadian.
Broncos fall to Vega,
The Broncos hosted Vega in their first home game of the season on December 6 and were defeated by two points at 41-43. They will participate in the Canyon Holiday Tournament December 29-30.
The Broncos played well against the Longhorns, but Vega was able to take advantage of too many missed shots by the Broncos. The game remained close from the tip off with neither team able to pull away to settle into a comfortable lead. Tyler Harper played solid and hit thee crucial three-pointers when they needed them and hit two out of two from the bonus line. Jmaury Davis led all scorers with 14 and shot 86 percent from the bonus line. Josiah Hearn put in five, Lyric Smith had four, and Anthony Ceniceros put in three. Mason Sims and Kaleb Bolin put in two points each.
The Broncos participated in the Childress Tournament and had three losses and one win over Spearman.
The Broncos lost to Holiday 45-54. After a close first half, the Broncos struggled in the third quarter only putting in three points. Holiday was able to capitalize on the Broncos’ situation and get the win. Davis played solid and finished with 26 points. The Broncos were defeated by West Plains 32-44. Once again, a slow shooting third quarter plagued the Broncos after playing fundamental basketball in the first half. Davis and Smith had 10 points each in the game.
The Broncos took on City View and narrowly lost 37-40. Going into the final period of play, the Broncos led by five points, but struggled to keep up the pace and City View took the win by three. Davis finished with 15.
The Broncos defeated Spearman 61-53 in the final game. They were able to execute offensively and played solid defense to make stops when they needed them. Smith put in 20, Davis had 19, and Hearn put in 11.
Franks caps NFR with big ride
By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo
LAS VEGAS – Cole Franks has spent the last two ProRodeo seasons traveling with three-time world champion bareback rider Tim O’Connell and Jess Pope, who clinched his first gold buckle this season.
“I’ve just got to complete the trifecta and have all of us in the rig wearing gold buckles,” said Franks, 21, of Clarendon, Texas.
He concluded a fantastic sophomore season with a solid run through the 2022 National Finals Rodeo. He placed in eight of 10 rounds and finished second to Pope in the average race; that, alone, is worth $60,159. He earned just shy of $147,000 in 10 December nights in the Nevada desert.
“It was slow compared to what it was last year, but it was a lot more fun this year,” Franks said. “I drew a lot nicer horses. They were just on the weaker ends of the pens every time. I feel like I did what I could with what I had. Today I made a little bobble at the end that cost me a little bit, but I’m pretty happy with how it ended.
He rode Pickett Pro Rodeo’s New Scarlet for 88 points, which would have won half the rounds this year. During Sunday’s 10th round, Franks finished in a tie for fifth place and added $6,063. He finished the year with $263,378
“I’ve dreamed of getting on that horse for a long time,” he said. “I watched Tim get on him at San Angelo (Texas) this year. That horse is so much fun, so much fun. He just floats right underneath himself. That’s probably one of the funnest horses I’ve been on.
“That’s a lot of those Pickett horses. They are all really good to get on. That’s the first Pickett horse I’ve been on (at the NFR). I was pretty excited about it when I saw the draw last night.”
Finishing so high in the aggregate race is also a blessing that came with riding well for 10 nights. He finished the NFR with 852 cumulative points, just eight behind Pope, who has won the average title for three straight years. That is a standard that proves the consistency of the top guys during the championship event.
“It is awesome to be able to do that,” Franks said. “Last year I was third in the average, so moving up one spot in the average is awesome. I’m going to be plugging for next year. I’m going to have to bump Jess out of that, but that’s going to be work.”
Franks isn’t afraid to work, and it’s why he’s been among the top five in the world standings each of his first two years in the PRCA.
Franks earns his 7th NFR check
By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo
LAS VEGAS – Through 18 rounds of the National Finals Rodeo, Cole Franks has been chomping at the bit in hopes of earning his first go-round victory.
He was within a whisker of it Thursday night, riding Bridwell Rodeo’s Girl Crush for 87 points to finish in a three-way tie for second place. Instead, Texan Leighton Berry took the round with an 88-point ride, but Franks came away with $17,410 for doing his part.
“I was getting pretty antsy toward the end,” Franks said as he watched the action; Berry was the third-to-last bareback rider to compete. “He rode good and had a really good horse. That’s part of the game. You can’t win everything. There are always better horses, better rides somewhere.”
Winning NFR go-rounds is tough business. Only the top 15 contestants in each event at the conclusion of the regular season advance to Las Vegas, and it’s difficult to beat all of them on a given night. For his part, Franks has ridden all of his horses and placed seven out of eight nights. He has pushed his NFR earnings to more than $80,000 and stands sixth in the world standings with just shy of $200,000.
“You just have to take them one at a time,” he said. “You keep nodding your head, keep getting on what you’re getting on that day and don’t worry about anything else.”
It’s working. He has scored 679 cumulative points on his eight rides and is in a tie with Californian R.C. Landingham for second in the aggregate race. They are 14 points behind the leader, Jess Pope, who travels the rodeo trail with Franks and Tim O’Connell. In fact, Pope and Landingham also scored 87 points to join Franks in the No. 2 position in the go-round.
“That horse is kind of a sleeper in that pen,” said Franks of Clarendon, Texas. “I was a little nervous going into this. Leighton Berry was helping me and said, ‘You know, this thing feels a lot better than people think.
“That horse feels really good. He is strong. He is all there, but he feels really good and is a lot of fun to get on.”
With two nights of the NFR left, his place in the aggregate race is valuable. If he were to finish alone in second place, it would be worth a bonus of $60,159 when Saturday’s 10th round comes to an end. Third place pays nearly $48,000.
“I’m still going for the round wins,” Franks said. “If that takes me out of the average, if I make a bobble, if I do get bucked off something, at least I know I was going for it.”
Franks finds the fun at NFR
By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo
LAS VEGAS – He’s a bit soft-spoken, but Cole Franks has no problem hiding the joy he is experiencing during his second trip to the National Finals Rodeo.
He’s a bareback rider, and he makes a living riding bucking horses. This is the best chance he has to really cash in on his season, so he’s making the most of every opportunity. On Wednesday night, he rode Powder River Rodeo’s All Eyes on A & K for 84.5 points to finish fifth in the seventh round.
It marked the sixth time in seven nights that he’s earned a paycheck in the Nevada desert.
“It’s always fun,” said Franks, 21, of Clarendon, Texas. “If it wasn’t fun, I don’t think I’d be able to do it. I like having fun. I like challenges. It has been challenging, for sure, but it has been a blast being here. I love it.”
The NFR is 10 rounds of the best rodeo has to offer. Only the top 15 contestants in each event qualify, and the bareback riders select the top 100 horses to be part of the sport’s richest rodeo. All Eyes on A & K fits into that category.
“That’s just a really nice horse and has been nice all year,” Franks said. “I was pretty excited to have her.”
He should have been. By finishing fifth, he added $7,462 to his bankroll and pushed his NFR earnings to $63,319. He is eighth in the world with nearly $180,000 collected this season. He’s also in line to add more to his pocketbook. Franks is tied for third in the average race with 592 points on seven rides. If he stays in that position when Saturday’s final round ends, he will add more than $41,000.
All this happened after he got off to a rocky start. Bareback riders use a rigging that is supposed to be strapped tightly to the bronc’s chest. They wear specially made gloves that have binds in them, then put their hands into the handhold of the rigging to lock themselves onto the horse. If the equipment is set up right, then the rest is muscle memory.
“I didn’t really pull my rigging very good,” Franks said, indicating that it was a bit looser on his horse than it should have been. “We started pulling (the cinches) a little early. (Arena director) Tom (Neuens) started us a little early, and I didn’t think about finishing it off.
“I chased my rigging most of the time.”
It served as a lesson learned for the young bronc buster. He’s gained a lot of those over his first two years in ProRodeo. He’s earned a lot of money in a short time, but much of that came toward the bottom end of the round payouts. He’d love to win a round and earn almost $29,000, but he’ll wait it out and see what the future holds over the next three nights.
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” he said. “Everything is moving up, and that’s the only way it’s going to hopefully go.”
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