Broncos overcome Quakers

PROVIDENCE — The Burrillville boys basketball team entered Wednesday night’s game against Moses Brown needing to win three of final four games to reach the Division II playoffs.

If the situation sounds familiar it’s because the Broncos faced the exact same situation last season and ended up achieving its goal. The Broncos took a giant step toward the playoffs, as Sam Clifford scored a gamehigh 27 points and Colby Bouzan produced a season-high 14 in a 47-42 victory over the Quakers.

“We’re in the same situation as last year, we had four games left and we needed to win three,” Burrillville coach Kevin Randall said. “While it wasn’t a must-win game for us, it really was. The kids knew we needed to win this game. I really have to credit the rest of the guys because we run a lot of stuff for Sam and they did a great job of setting screens and getting him open.”

Burrillville (5-10 Division II) trailed by three points at halftime, but the Broncos held the Quakers to just 14 points in the second half.

Life gets much more difficult for the Broncos because Friday night Erickson Bans and Shea comes to the Broncodome. The Raiders defeated the Broncos twice last season, including in the first round of the playoffs.

“We know we have the best player in the state coming to the doom Friday night,” Randall said. “We know he’s going to get his, but we need to do a good job matching them on the offensive end. It’s going to be a tough test.”