Everyone told Broncos senior Timmy Myles he had to dunk at least once in a game before graduating.
Done.
Myles’ left-handed throwdown all alone on a breakaway opened the scoring Thursday in International Falls’ 72-54 win over Two Harbors in the first round of the Section 7AA tournament at the Falls High Gym.
“You can’t beat a first play as a dunk. That’s pretty exciting,” Broncos head coach Derek Dowty said.
Myles, who scored six of the first nine points for International Falls, knew he had a shot at the highlight when he stole the ball near the 3-point line on the opposite end.
“It happened really, really fast actually,” Myles said, noting his only other dunk attempt in a game came in 10th grade, and he missed.
“I was more focused on getting back on ‘D,’ though, cause I know coach would be mad if I was celebrating and got beat,” he added.
The Broncos rarely got beat in the first half and used the electric start to jump out to a 16-3 lead. They surrendered only 21 points in the first half and led 39-21 at the break.
“We were pretty happy with that,” Dowty said.
Trevar Carlson paced the second-seeded Broncos (17-10) with a team-high 14 points. Shawn Filipiak, who matched Myles with a one-handed dunk of his own early in the second half, finished with 13 points. Myles had 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Gunnar Anderson, Ethan Johns and Adam Potter posted eight points each.
“We didn’t want to underestimate them,” Myles said, noting everyone enters the playoffs with a 0-0 record. “Teams that don’t do good during the year can come out and do well.”
Two Harbors (3-22) got a season-high 28 points from senior Ryan Guentzel, whose 20 points in the second half helped the Agates match the Broncos over the final 18 minutes.
“He saved his best for last, so that was good,” Two Harbors head coach Jamie Otterblad said.
The seventh-seeded Agates ended the season on a 7-game losing streak and only reached the 50-point mark four times in 25 games, including Thursday.
“Just streaky,” Otterblad said about his offense. “Never put two halves together.”
There were no first-round upsets in Section 7AA, meaning the Broncos will face No. 3 Deer River (14-12) at 1 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Following the Broncos-Warriors matchup at UMD will be No. 4 Esko vs. No. 1 Braham at 2:45 p.m. No. 2 Rush City takes on No. 3 Moose Lake-Willow River at 6 p.m. and No. 4 Eveleth-Gilbert battles No. 1 Virginia at 7:45 p.m.
The Broncos just defeated Deer River at home 69-64 in the regular-season finale on March 5.
“We know what they have and it’s going to be a battle,” Dowty said. “We’re pretty even ball clubs. Hope we show up.”
Game notes
• The last dunk at the Falls High Gym was by Josh Stougard, who was a junior during the 2006-07 season, according to former Broncos head coach Josh Koenig. Myles was also in attendance to witness Stougard’s dunk.
• The Broncos shot 46 percent from the field (24 of 56), compared to the Agates’ 43 percent (18 of 42). Both teams shot well from the free-throw line with the Broncos finishing at 18-for-21 and the Agates finishing at 13-for-15.
• International Falls, which defeated Two Harbors 57-41 during the regular season, evened its all-time record at 5-5 against the Agates. The Broncos are 20-11 all time against Deer River, but lost to the Warriors in the first round of last year’s Section 7AA tournament.
