Like a well-oiled machine, the Boyd Christian High School Broncos took the FCA Falcons to school at home Tuesday night, defeating the Franklin team 65-32, much to the delight of the fan base in attendance to help celebrate senior night.
“With the conference tournament approaching, we have turned all our attention to defense,” Boyd Broncos coach Lucas Majors said. “Any player can throw up a shot and it fall, but it takes heart and commitment to play defense for 32 minutes. I was pleased with our effort recording a game high in steals and our second lowest game in turnovers.”
Consistency was the key word of the night, as the Broncos (22-4) didn’t let much slip by their defense or let many opportunities slip by on the offensive side either, not counting some foul shots left on the table as the Broncos hit 8-of-20 for 40 percent.
Franklin fared much better from the charity stripe, but the Broncos played such a clean game the Falcons weren’t there much, shooting 4-of-5 for 80 percent.
Boyd’s offense was led by Joelah Solomon with 19 points, all from the paint and that’s just for starters. With wingmen Trey Cantrell and Tyler Beaty -- who are both over 1,000 career points -- scoring 18 and 15 points, respectively, the Broncos have a stable full of offensive talent.
Solomon recorded a double-double with 13 rebounds, and with his laser-sharp passing distributed the basketball unfettered.
Point guard Blaine Wilson set up all the offense besides a couple of fast breaks, one where Cantrell would go monster boards slamming in a dunk for good measure.
Defensively, the Broncos shut down the Falcons offense early, giving up only 11 points in the first half, three from the foul line. Brandon Minor was the top scorer from Franklin Christian Academy with 10 game points. Solomon led the stats for most forced turnovers with five steals. Cantrell and Beaty had 4 and 3 steals, respectively.
Offensively, the Broncos had the open lanes so they didn’t need to take the outside shot. Just to keep the Falcons on their toes, Cantrell tickled the twine three times from outside the arc in the first half, while Joel Smith hit for one in the third quarter.
Four starters, Beaty, Cantrell, Solomon and Wilson, won’t be starting next year, as they are all seniors who were honored during the evening’s games. Coach Majors will have some big shoes to fill.
“It’s been an honor having the opportunity to coach them the time that I have,” Majors said. “Saying I’m thankful for their dedication and work ethic doesn’t cut it. They have gone above and beyond what I have asked of them. They personify resiliency and persistence, winning with humility and leading by example on and off the court. Blaine, Joelah, Trey, and Tyler gave their hearts to this team and never took a day off. As a coach I hate to see them go, but I couldn’t be more proud of them for the success they have earned this season.”
The Broncos have two regular-season games remaining before tournament play. Friday they play host to West Academy and Saturday is a road game to play Clarksville Christian. The conference tournament will be Feb. 20-25, followed by the NACA National Tournament which Boyd will compete in Feb. 28 – March 4.