The Belmond-Klemme boys basketball season ended Tuesday night with a 52-50 loss to North Union at home, as aired on 104.9 KLMJ.
The Broncos led 11-7 after the first quarter and took an 11-point advantage into halftime. North Union responded in the third, outscoring Belmond-Klemme 17-7 to cut the deficit to one entering the fourth quarter.
The Warriors took their first lead about two minutes into the final quarter and pushed the margin to five before the teams traded baskets down the stretch. With one minute remaining, the Broncos led by one before Juan Medina scored to give Belmond-Klemme a 50-47 edge.
North Union’s Khael Jones answered with a layup with 26.2 seconds left to trim the deficit to one. The Broncos turned the ball over on the ensuing inbound, and Jones converted another drive to give the Warriors the lead.
After a Warriors foul, the Broncos missed two free throws in the bonus. A missed putback attempt by the Broncos and a Broncos foul on the play, sent Kael Vaske to the foul line for bonus free throws. Vaske made one of the two free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining to extend the Warriors’ lead to 52-50. Belmond-Klemme’s final 3-point attempt missed at the buzzer.
Brody Heifner led the Broncos with 26 points. Jones paced North Union with 19.
The loss ends the season for Belmond-Klemme, which finished 17-6 — five more wins and six fewer losses than a season ago.
Head Coach Justin Meyer says what stood out most was the culture the team built.
“They put in the effort, guys knew their role,” says Meyer. “It very much was a team through and through, top to bottom, fifteenth guy on the bench to the first guy. I felt like we were really well connected and I just couldn’t be more proud of these guys despite the loss tonight.”
