With all the drama surrounding Wauneta-Palisade and Dundy County-Stratton’s  fifth match up of the season, the Broncos found a way to add more tension to the contest Monday night with a seven-point fourth quarter comeback.
    WP got off to a slow offensive start, not scoring until a  driving basket by Ben Anderjaska with 4:10 left in the first quarter. The Broncos trailed 2-5 before a Caid Doetker free throw.
    DCS answered with a three-pointer, which Dalton Harchelroad countered with a layup.
    Duncan Rector got in on the action with just under a minute to go. Rector rolled off a Doetker screen to knock down a three-pointer, making the score knotted at 8-8 to end the first quarter.
    WP took its first lead of the game early in the second on a Rector drive. The game started to get away from the Broncos when DCS scored back-to-back-to-back buckets to pull back into the lead, 10-14.
    Dennis Cavanuagh was able to drive to the basket to stem the bleeding, but DCS once more scored on consecutive possessions to maintain control with the score 12-18.
    One free throw by Rector stemmed the flow, until WP traded a DCS basket with a Harchelroad driving layin.
    Once more, DCS scored four-straight points, making the score 15-24 and leading to a WP timeout. The break allowed the Broncos’ defense to regroup and clamp down on the Tigers for the remainder of the half. After one free throw by Rector with 1:12 remaining, both teams struggled to get anything going offensively.
    WP won a jump ball with 2.9 seconds left in the half, setting up a George Lee basket off the inbound pass from Rector, which left WP trailing 18-24 at halftime.
    The third quarter was pretty by any offensive standards.
    Cavanuagh found Harchelroad ahead of the pack for a layup early in the quarter before both teams went silent for three minutes.
    Midway through the quarter DCS made a layup and knocked down a three to increase its lead to 20-29. Harchelroad scored once more with two minutes left to round out scoring in the third quarter.
    After a full game of Broncos pressure, DCS crumbled in the fourth quarter.
    “Putting pressure on our opponent is really what we are all about, we become a much weaker team when the other side is more comfortable,” WP Head Coach Dave Kuhlen said.
    WP immediately started nibbling away at the seven-point deficit.
    All night the Broncos found most of their success driving to the rim, and Cavanaugh continued the trend with a basket. As DCS tried to bring the ball up the court, Ben Anderjaska nabbed a steal and hit a short jumper to pull WP to within three points, 26-29.
     DCS responded with a basket to keep the lead at five points, before Lee picked up a loose ball and knocked in a bucket.

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