Broncos squeak out win at Melrose

MELROSE — After a slow start this season, the Floyd Broncos are starting to make some noise in District 3-1A boys basketball.

Juniors Jerrod Long and Kyle Kropf each hit a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter Friday night and Floyd outlasted Melrose 57-56, knocking the Buffaloes (15-7, 4-2 district) out of the top spot.

Fort Sumner (16-8, 5-2), which lost at home to Floyd a week earlier, regainedthe district lead with a 73-65 win on Friday over Dora.

The Broncos (13-11, 4-3) erased a five-point deficit by outscoring the Buffs 25-19 in the fourth quarter. They got two 3-pointers from Kropf and one from Long on three consecutive trips late to turn a 1-point deficit into a 6-point advantage.

“It was back and forth,” Floyd boys coach Jeff Gillespie said. “Melrose would pull ahead by seven or eight points and we’d come back and lead by three or four. It was a game of spurts.”

Long scored 22 points for Floyd, while Kropf added 18 and had of the Broncos’ seven 3-pointers.

Senior Jeremy Weese scored 12 points for Melrose, while senior Caleb Dodd and junior Carlos Ruis added 10 apiece.

Floyd has won three district games in a row, going overtime on Tuesday night to nip Elida.

“It’s wide-open,” Gillespie said of the district picture. “It just depends on who shows up to play.”

In the first half of the twin bill, Melrose’s girls got four 3-pointers and 13 points from junior Schuyler Cochran in registering a 49-41 victory over the Lady Broncos.

The teams were separated by no more than two points at each of the first three quarter stops before Melrose (10-13, 3-3) pulled away with a 16-11 edge in the final eight minutes.

Cochran was the only player on either team to reach double figures. Junior Darcee Chenault led the Lady Bronchos (8-16, 0-7) with eight points.

Dora-Fort Sumner — The top-ranked and unbeaten Fort Sumner girls cruised to their 24th win of the season with a 60-34 win over Dora.

The Vixens improved to 7-0 in District 3-1A. They can clinch the regular-season title outright on Tuesday night when they play at second-place Elida (15-6, 5-1).

Seniors Kayla Britain and Lindsey Mansell led the Vixens’ balanced attack with 13 points each, while twins Sandy and Kelly Fortner scored 12 and 11, respetively.

Junior Rana Terry paced the Lady Coyotes (9-13, 1-5) with nine points. Seniors D’Shawn Pettigrew and Kassandra Clark each had two 3-pointers and eight points.

Fort Sumner’s boys used big first and third quarters to turn back Dora. The Foxes (16-7, 5-2) led by 23 points before the Coyotes (7-17, 2-4) unloaded with a 32-point output in the final period.

Junior Jeremy Gauna led four Foxes in double figures with 17 points. Dora, which sank 20-of-25 free throws, got a 34-point output from junior Tyler Wilhoit while junior Travis Belcher added 10.

District 3-1A

Boys

Fort Sumner 73, Dora 65

Dora (7-17, 2-4) — Travis Belcher 10, Tyler Wilhoit 34, Johnny Lopez 2, J.R. Gonzales 6, Casey O’Connor 5, Brent Hays 8. Totals 22 20-25 65.

Fort Sumner (16-7, 5-2) — Jeremy Gauna 17, Brenton Williamson 3, Ryan Fikany 1, Byron Wilson 4, Tim Segura 16, Matt Sena 13, Richard Canales 11, Matt West 2, Derek Dimitroff 6. Totals 31 5-12 73.

Dora 8 11 14 32 — 65

Fort Sumner 24 7 25 17 — 73

3-pointers — Dora (1): O’Connor. Fort Sumner (6): Sena 4, Canales, Williamson.

Floyd 57, Melrose 56

Floyd (13-11, 4-3) — Eric Padilla 1, Ryan Johnson 8, Jonathan Mitchell 6, Jerrod Long 22, Kyle Kropf 18, Manny Carrillo 2. Totals 20 10-21 57.

Melrose (15-7, 4-2) — Carlos Ruiz 10, Jeremy Weese 12, Cedar Rush 3, Tyler Tatum 9, Caleb Dodd 10, Jason Runyan 6, Brock Graham 6. Totals 23 6-12 56.

Floyd 19 4 9 25 — 57

Melrose 14 11 12 19 — 56

3-pointers — Floyd (7): Kropf 4, Long 2, Johnson. Melrose (4): Ruiz 2, Rush, Tatum. JV score — Melrose 54, Floyd 52.

Girls

Fort Sumner 60, Dora 34

Dora (9-13, 1-5) — Jennifer Bolin 2, Tearney O’Connor 4, D’Shawn Pettigrew 8, Rana Terry 9, Kassandra Clark 8, Audra Pinkston 1, Yesenia Jacquez 2. Totals 13 4-6 34.

Fort Sumner (24-0, 7-0) — Kelly Fortner 11, Kayla Britain 13, Leslie Wood 1, Kaylynn Johnson 2, Tobea Patterson 2, Julie Wood 2, Sandy Fortner 12, Lindsey Mansell 13, DeLane Luce 2, Kirstin Caton 2. Totals 24 10-18 60.

Dora 7 5 7 15 — 34

Fort Sumner 18 24 14 4 — 60

3-pointers — Dora (4): Clark 2, Pettigrew 2. Fort Sumner (2): K. Fortner, Mansell.

Melrose 49, Floyd 41

Floyd (8-16, 0-7) — Kelli Johnson 7, Rebecca Blue 5, Darcee Chenault 8, Blair Jaramillo 7, Noel Carpenter 5, Carley Dement 3, Jewlie Paiz 6. Totals 14 12-28 41.

Melrose (10-13, 3-3) — Audrey Hemminger 8, Schuyler Cochran 13, Ta’Neil Roberts 6, Janea Eshelman 3, Kelly Fish 6, Zanessa Dodd 2, Lauren Widner 2, Lauren Graham 5, Toni Burdine 4. Totals 1710-20 49.

Floyd 9 13 8 11 — 41

Melrose 7 16 10 16 — 49

3-pointers — Floyd (1): Chenault. Melrose (5): Cochran 4, Graham. JV score — Melrose 40, Floyd 23.