The Valley City Hi-Liners’ losing streak reached nine games Tuesday as a late surge by Lisbon lifted the Broncos to a 44-42 win.
Lisbon jumped out to a 16-5 lead behind the combined scoring of Cameron Cordero and Hayden Enger. Valley City trimmed the deficit to single digits by the end of the first quarter, as a pair of 3-pointers from Miken Mattson cut the margin to 18-11.
While the Hi-Liners struggled offensively for much of the middle quarters, their defense kept them within striking distance, holding Lisbon to just six points in both the second and third quarters.
Valley City finally completed its comeback with 5:30 remaining in the fourth quarter and continued to lean on its defense to keep the Broncos in check. After a pair of tough baskets by Collin Compson, Lisbon called a timeout trailing 36-30 with 2:49 left.
After scoring just 12 points over a span of more than 21 minutes of game time, the Broncos capitalized on several Valley City miscues to regain the lead in under a minute. A technical foul proved costly, as Lisbon converted four free throws and retained possession to take a 38-36 advantage.
Mattson knocked down a 3-pointer in the closing minute to put Valley City back in front, but the Hi-Liners were unable to come up with a defensive stop. An and-one play gave Lisbon a 41-39 lead with under a minute remaining.
Following a missed floater by Mattson and a pair of Lisbon free throws — the Broncos finished 13 of 16 at the line — Valley City trailed 43-39 with 13 seconds left and no timeouts.
Finn Dockter drilled a quick 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one and force a Lisbon inbound. Cordero split a pair of free throws to give the Broncos a two-point edge with just over three seconds left.
On the ensuing inbound, Mattson was fouled on a half-court attempt, sending him to the line with 0.2 seconds remaining. After the first two free throws came up short, Valley City attempted a tip-in on the final miss but was unable to convert, sealing the 44-42 loss.
With the defeat, Valley City dropped to 3-11 on the season.
The Hi-Liners return to action Thursday with a road matchup against the Central Cass Squirrels at 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard on 1490 AM/96.3 FM KOVC and online at NewsDakota.com.