BRONCHOS EXTEND HOT STREAK IN HOME WIN

BY SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

HOLLY

The Holly Hoops Victory Parade kept marching through town Friday night to the beat of a resounding drum and at this point in time it doesn't appear to have any signs of stopping in the near future. Unleashing a balanced offensive attack, the host-Bronchos took out Oxford 68-58 and have now won 12 of their last 13 games.

The highlight of the game for Holly was the coming out party of transfer sharpshooter Josh Fugate (Lakeland). Since becoming eligible in mid-January, the 6-1 junior gunner has not been his usual deadeye-self, struggling a bit finding his shooting groove and getting used to his new home on the court. That all changed Friday when Fugate touched up the twine for a season-high 15 points, while sinking a perfect 4 for 4 attempts from 3-point range.

"That's the kind of shooting we were getting from Josh this past summer," Bronchos head coach, Lance Baylis, said via text following the game. "It's nice to see him get his stroke back. He can be very dangerous."

Thomas Lovachis, a senior combo guard and another transfer for the Holly Express from Stockbridge scored a game-high 17 points and senior point guard Justin Fowler matched Fugate's 4 3-balls and recorded 16 points. All-Conference senior forward, Lance Hopkin, who deserves praise this season for sacrificing some of his personal offensive stats for the betterment of the team, chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds.

Hollys runs its overall record to 15-4, 14-4 in the Flint Metro Conference. Since the additions of Lovachis and Fugate, the Bronchos are 10-1.  When you combine this season's 15 wins with last season's 19 wins it matches the most for the program in a two-year span. The 1959 and 1960 Holly hoop squads combined for 34 wins across two seasons, the first in which the team advanced all the way to the Class D state championship game. Back in the 1920's, the program claimed two state titles. Last season, the Bronchos captured a share of the Flint Metro Conference for the first time in seven years.

"We're starting to really come together," Baylis said.

Gary Wurtz led Oxford with 14 points and seven rebounds.