FRANKLIN—“We are on our way to the Virginia, division I sweet 16,” remarked a happy Franklin High School head coach Danny Dillon after Broncos won the game 48-37 against the Sussex Central Tigers.

“Sussex is full of athletes and solid basketball players, but we were determined to trust one another and we came out with a big win,” said Dillon.

Playing at the Peggy Wilkins Gym at Franklin High School on Friday, Feb. 21, the Broncos had received a first round bye and were up against their long time rival the Sussex Central Tigers in the conference tournament.

It wasn’t looking good for the home team as the game tipped off. The Tigers jumped off to a quick 9 point lead following 3 three-point baskets. At 5:10 in the first quarter, the Tigers were up 12-2 as the Broncos struggled to score. The Broncos coming to life were aided by three pointers by Fred Lassiter and Quinton Lowe, which helped them close the score to 14-17 by the end of the quarter.

A strange thing happened in the second quarter, as the Tigers slowed down their aggressive offense and were not able to hit their mark on scoring. The game clock had ticked down to 3:11 before either team would score. At that point Lassiter dropped in a basket for the Broncos to put the home team behind by one point with the score 16-17. Bronco Terry Warren was fouled on a shot at the 1:20 mark. At the line, Warren connected on one of two free-throws to tie the score at 17 all.

The Tigers scored only one basket for the quarter as the half ended with the Tigers ahead 19-17.

In the third quarter the Broncos went ahead 24-21 with 4:29 left on the clock. By 1:43 the Tigers fought back to tie the score at 28 all. The quarter ended with the Tigers ahead 30-28.

“The boys worked as hard as they have all year to prepare for one game and we executed perfectly,” added Dillon as the Broncos easily outscored the Tigers 20-8 in the fourth quarter.

“Sweet 16 is great, but in the end we are just continuing to honor God and honor one another as we play with all we have,” said Dillon.

Franklin played Matthews High Tuesday and the game ended after deadline.

“We will do our best to continue to make Franklin proud,” Dillon added.

The Broncos had three players in double figures. They were Corey Porter with 14 points, Fred Lassiter with 12 and Quintin Lowe with 10 points. For the Tigers Nathan Harris and Kebra Jackson both had 11 points each.