Broncos Fall 81-71 to Swedes in Season Debut
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hastings (0-1, 0-0) | 29 | 42 | 71 |
|
Bethany (KS) (2-2, 0-0) | 46 | 35 | 81 |
(Lindsborg, KS) – Playing their first official game of the 2024-25 season, the Hastings Broncos lost 81-71 at Bethany on Tuesday.
The Swedes never trailed in this one, scoring early and racing out to an early double-digit lead of 19-9 less than nine minutes into the game.
Down by 15 at one point, the Broncos trimmed the lead to 12 with four minutes left in the first half, but Hastings was unable to close the gap, as Bethany grew the lead to 46-29 going into halftime.
Bethany held the Broncos to 26 percent shooting and only allowed two threes in the first 20 minutes of action, while shooting 57 percent from the field and outrebounding Hastings 21-12.
In the second half, Bethany continued to control the flow of the game, but the Broncos were able to keep the game within striking distance.
With Bethany leading 69-52 under eight minutes left, Hastings got a quick 10-0 with two free throws from freshman Maverick Binder, then a Bethany turnover that turned into a sophomore Quinn Johnson three. Binder followed that up with a steal and a layup, then Hastings got within eight on a Johnson three-pointer with 5:58 to go, prompting a Bethany timeout.
Both teams went scoreless for a minute after the time out, but a basket from junior DaRon Hall cut the lead to six. That would be the closest Hastings would get as the Swedes responded with a free throw and a made three to go back up 10 with less than four minutes left. They briefly cut the lead to seven with about a minute and a half left, but Bethany held on to win 81-71.
Hastings shot 53 percent from the field in the second half to shoot 40 percent for the game, but they were only able to make four of their 25 threes. Hall led the way with 16 points, along with 15 from Johnson.
Up next, Hastings will host York University at 6pm on Saturday, Nov. 9 in Lynn Farrell Arena for their first home game of the season.
