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(Ogden) Jalen Moore had 16 points and seven rebounds leading Sky View to their first state basketball championship since 1994 with a 56-50 win over Cache Valley rival Mountain Crest.
Moore led the Bobcats in scoring a night after his 3-point shot from half court beat the buzzer in overtime giving them a stunning upset over No. 2 Bountiful. The play was featured on ESPN's sportscenter as No. 2 Top Play on Friday.
Moore was named tournament MVP after leading the underdog Bobcats to an unforgettable title run.
"I guess we still had some magic left in us." Moore said. "I'm just proud of our team. We came out so hard and we worked our butts off to get here. Everyday we would grind it out in practice and we knocked off some tough teams. I think were ready. The road was tough but we got it done."
Sky View had an up and down regular season. They finished third in region five and needed a win in their final region game against Roy to avoid a play-in situation. That 37 point win over a very good Roy team started an impressive run into the state tournament.
"We knew we were better than that and our games showed us that," says senior Ty Nielsen. "We lost some really close ones and we weren't satisfied with that. We wanted to win this."
The Bobcats beat No. 3 Timpview 78-58 to open the tournament. Then they had to get past No. 5 Olympus to earn a shot at No. 2 Bountiful in the semifinals. Sky View fans will never forget that dramatic ending against Bountiful when Jalen Moore's half court buzzer beater sent the Bobcats to the state championship game.
They completed their run with a win over Region 5 champion Mountain Crest, a team that swept Sky View in region play.
"We were the underdog each and every game," says Matt Dewey. "We felt like we had nothing to lose and played each game as if it were our last."
The Bobcats employed a much more intense, aggressive style of play in the state tournament and used a full court press to force turnovers and create easy baskets. The team bought into what their coaches taught them and the result is a state title.
"Kids believed," says head coach Kirk Hillyard. "They could have quit, they could have folded but they believed in themselves and in what we were trying to do and that's kind of how things go when everybody buys in at the right time."
