Trevar Carlson spent most of Thursday’s game on the bench in foul trouble, making it ironic that his free throw was the deciding basket in an exciting 61-60 victory for the Broncos against Hibbing in the home opener at the Falls High Gym.
Carlson’s driving layup banked in with 1.1 seconds to play, and a foul by Steven Erickson on the shot sent the lefty to the line with a chance to win the game.
Carlson’s layup wasn’t his last bank shot of the night.
The senior captain banked in his free throw, and after the Bluejackets failed to get a final shot off, the gym erupted into celebration.
“No, I didn’t call it,” Carlson said about his game-winning free throw. “I thought I shot it short. I shot it light and it hit the backboard.”
Missed free throws had killed the Broncos up to that point. They finished 15-for-25 overall, including 12 of 21 in the second half, but six of those misses came in a row down the stretch before Carlson opened the bank.
“I’m glad Trevar finished for us, really glad,” said senior Nick Bujold, who missed four of those six free throws.
“He gave it to my left and I’m left-handed, so I went strong to the hole,” Carlson said about his final basket, which came after Erickson made 1 of 2 free throws with 10.7 seconds remaining to make it 60-58.
The wild back-and-forth finish capped an entertaining contest between two teams with aspirations to win the Iron Range Conference.
The Broncos’ goal from the opening tip was to stop Ezra Coughlin, while Hibbing pressured the home team the length of the court the entire game. Hibbing’s full-court press didn’t effect the Broncos until the end, while International Falls’ emphasis on Coughlin was evident until the senior fouled out with 27.3 seconds left with 15 points.
“We weren’t too worried really about anyone else,” Bujold said.
Gunnar Anderson, who finished with a game-high 21 points, made his fourth 3-pointer of the night with 1:42 to play to give the Broncos a 58-54 lead. Shawn Filipiak, who had 12 points, started the string of misses from the line by clanging two off the rim with 50 seconds left. Coughlin scored on the next possession to make it 58-56, and Carlson immediately turned it over on a poor pass. Filipiak fouled out to put Connor Perry at the line with 32.6 seconds remaining, and the junior made 1 of 2 to put the score at 58-57.
Following a Broncos timeout, Bujold missed two free throws before fouling Perry, who made both of his freebies to put the visitors up 59-58. Perry then stole the inbounds pass before Carlson stole it back and saved it to Bujold, who missed two more free throws with 12.1 remaining.
The Broncos set up the final play during a timeout after Erickson made it 60-58.
“I understand they’re tired, but we gotta finish these games,” Broncos head coach Derek Dowty said.
Perry scored a team-high 18 points for the Bluejackets (0-2), while Logan Coleman had 13 points. Hibbing finished 18-for-29 from the line.
The only other player in double figures for the Broncos was Bujold, who had 10 points. Matt Paulbeck finished with nine points and Carlson had seven.
“They’re very, very physical,” Dowty said about Hibbing. “And we’re starting to become physical, but we aren’t there yet.”
Game notes
• Roger Jerome, a 1974 FHS grad and a memorable supporter of Bronco athletics, was honored before the game with a moment of silence. Jerome is featured on the cover and inside the 2010-11 Bronco basketball program, and the players have the name “Jerome” on the back of their warmups. There was also a short radio clip played before the moment of silence featuring Roger’s call of the finish of the section championship game in 2000 when the Broncos made history by advancing to the school’s first state tournament.
• Bronco seniors Ethan Johns and Treyce Simon didn’t play due to illnesses/injuries, according to Dowty. Johns dressed, but knew he wasn’t going to play coming off a bout with mononucleosis. His first practice was Wednesday. Simon didn’t dress and is recovering from an illness and a knee injury.
