Kern Valley’s Zane Carver looks for an outlet as the Arvin defender closes in. Submitted photo.
Kern Valley’s varsity basketball team began its league season at home on Dec. 2. They entertained Mammoth as they began the HDL.
The Broncs (3-2 overall, 1-0 HDL) defense took control as they dominated play. Kern Valley grabbed the 65-30 win. Nine of the Broncs players were able to contribute to the team’s scoring. Kern Valley would hit four times from long distance. Shiloh Galvan led the surge as he was the top scorer for Kern Valley with 23 points. He would drain two from behind the three-point arc and made one of two from the free-throw-line. He was followed by Aiden Madden with nine points. Madden was included in the made three-pointers with one. Two players would add seven points to the team total. Bryce Smoot and Carson Parks scored the seven points. Parks capped the three-point scoring with one made. Daniel Hinkey and Jeff Clark each dropped in six points, while Joey Galvan added four points. Zane Carver scored two points, while Brandon Cox made free throw for his lone point.
Smoot led the Broncs on the boards as he grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Carver followed by pulling down four boards. The Kern Valley players recorded a pair of rebounds each. Hinkey, Clark, and Maddox Beaury had the two rebounds. Cox was credited with one rebound in the game. Smoot was the leader in assists. He handed out three to lead the team. Carver dished out a pair assists, while J. Galvan, S. Galvan, and Madden each had one assist.
The following day Kern Valley was at home again as they faced off with the team from Arvin. The Bears turned the tables on the Broncs as they shut down the opposing offense after the opening quarter. The adjustment from Arvin came after the opening quarter. The Broncs poured in 10 points in the initial quarter and found themselves down by seven. From that point on it was all Arvin as they clamped down. Kern Valley was limited to 12 points the rest of the way. The Bears offense continued balanced scoring as they added 17 points in both the second and third quarters. They finished of with nine points to create the final score of 60-22.
Clark led the Broncs in scoring with six points. Madden hit once from the three-point line for his three points. S. Galvan also scored three points. J. Galvan, Smoot, Carver, Cox, and Parks each scored two points to cap the scoring. S. Galvan handed out a pair of assists to lead the Broncs. Clark, J. Galvan, Smoot, Carver, and Parks each recorded one assist in the game.
Clark was the top rebounder as he pulled down seven. Carver grabbed five, while Smoot had three boards. Beaury was credited with a pair of rebounds, while Madden, Jacob Redenius, S. Galvan, Cox and Parks had one board apiece. Smoot was credited with a pair of steals, while Madden had one steal. Carver and Clark recorded a pair of blocks, while Beaury had one block for Kern Valley.
Earlier in the season, the Broncs competed at the Mira Monte Tournament. They would lose their opening game to Central Valley Christian 65-17. This loss dropped them into the consolation bracket of the tournament. The bounced back to take the second game over Delano 57-42. They followed that with a 61-52 win over Golden Valley. With the pair of victories, they moved into the Consolation Bracket Championship. They went up against Tehachapi where the outcome was a lopsided affair. The final score 76-33 for the Warriors.
This past weekend, Kern Valley competed in the Farmersville Tournament. Results and individual stats will be reported in next week’s issue of the Kern Valley Sun. On Tuesday, the Broncs traveled to face off with Bishop in another HDL battle.
