Todd Rose | Daily Press Bark River-Harris’ Trenton Wood-Keshick (22) shoots a layup between Rapid River defenders Chris Platt (24) and Mason Kudlick (right) Friday at Bark River.

HARRIS — After a nailbiter of a first half, the Bark River-Harris Broncos boy’s basketball team (3-0) pulled away to take the win 53-41 over the Rapid River Rockets (0-2).

The third-quarter is where the Broncos made their push for the win.

After going into the locker room tied 24-24, they outscored the Rockets 16-8 in the third.

“We talked about being aggressive on offense (at halftime),” said Broncos coach Marc Zawacki. “This is our third game this week — third game in four days — so, they’re tired.

With the win, the Broncos move to 3-0 to begin their season.

“It’s nice (to start undefeated,” Zawacki said. “It’s going to be a long season, though. We’re just going to take it one game at a time.”

The fourth quarter was a similar story as the third, with the Broncos increasing their lead on a 13-9 run.

The final score, however, was not indicative of the back-and-forth battle seen in the first half.

Mason Kudlick got the scoring started for the Rockets, hitting a three around the 30-second mark of the first quarter. He followed it up with two more shots for two apiece before the 3-minute mark.

Meanwhile, Zach Robinette put points up for Bark River with a pair of two-point shots.

A three from Nick Javurek gave the Broncos a 9-7 lead with about three minutes to go in the quarter.

After trading points, the Rockets held the lead 14-11 at the end of the first courtesy of a three by Matt Snay.

Despite a 10-point run from the Broncos in the second quarter, the teams finished the half tied at 24. Rapid River’s Max Lenaker made two shots in the final 1:35 of the half to tie things up.

Trenton Wood-Keshick led the Broncos in scoring with 18 points.

“You know, TK is TK,” said coach Zawacki. “He’s left-handed, he’s right-handed, he can cut to the rim. He’s a slasher, a shooter and can knock down shots. He’s a pretty skilled ballplayer.”

Behind Wood-Keshick in points was Carter Zawacki with 13.

“If it’s going to be a physical game he’s (Carter) the guy you’re going to want out there,” said coach Zawacki. “He’s going to crash the boards. He plays a lot bigger than he is at times.”

For the Rockets, it was a lack of energy that brought the team down according to head coach Richard Poma.

“I think the energy was on their side,” Poma said. “I think they were a little bit more ready to play.”

Poma also said the Rockets struggled with box-outs, something they also experienced in their opener against Munising.

“As soon as that ball went off the back of the rim, we have a tendency to watch it instead of boxing out,” he said. “That was a huge difference for us.”

While Max Lenaker led the Rockets in scoring with 13 points, Poma was happy with the team’s performances all around.

“Honestly, I thought as a whole they did a pretty darn good job,” he said. “We’re just building to get better. As long as we’re getting better before districts, that’s what we’re focussing on.”

The Broncos play next Monday against the Norway Knights in Norway while Rapid River will host the Munising Mustangs. for a rematch from last week’s season opener.

Rapid River 14 10 8 9 — 41

Bark River-Harris 11 13 16 13 — 53

Rapid River: Max Lenaker 13, Kudlik 7, Dawley 6, Ben Lenaker 3, Snay 3, Platt 2, Flath 2, Lundquist 2; F: 14; FT: 2-2; Fouled out: None; 3-Point field goals: Kudlick, Ben Lenaker, Snay, Max Lenaker.

Bark River-Harris: Wood-Keshick 18, Zawacki 13, Stein 6, Javurek 6, Lippens 4, Metzer 2, Wandahsega 2, Dylon Lippens 2; F: 9; Technical foul: Stein; FT: 5-9; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Javurek 2.