South Summit wakes up, pulls away from Enterprise for 2A boys quarterfinal berth


5 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

OREM — South Summit coach Dusty Hatch did something different than a lot of teams will admit in the first round of the postseason.

He replaced his entire starting lineup in the middle of the first quarter — and it worked perfectly.

Kaden Atkinson scored a season-high 20 points, and Nick Beasley added 16 as the Wildcats rallied in the final three quarters for a 58-48 win over Enterprise in a Class 2A boys basketball state play-in game at Orem High School.

“I’ve been in a slump, so it’s good to get back in rhythm,” Atkinson said. “They let me keep shooting, unless it’s super bad.”

His coach put it a little less mildly. Atkinson’s points were the first time he passed the 15-point mark since scoring 19 in a 61-51 win Dec. 3 over North Sanpete.

“Oh, he’s been horrible,” Hatch said in jest. “I keep telling him every game that it’s his game. He’s been due to break it.

“He’s really struggling. And then tonight, he goes off on the biggest stage when we needed him the most.”

Class 2A boys basketball state tournament
Play-in games at Orem High
Summit Academy 45, Beaver 36
Isaiah Green had 3 3-pointers en route to 13 points to lead the bears past the Beavers.
Grand 63, Rowland Hall 44
Cameron Hoppensteadt poured in 15 points to lead the Red Devils to the easy win.
South Sevier 60, Providence Hall 42
Tyson Chishol scored 15 points, and the Rams used a 19-7 third quarter to pull away from the Patriots.
Layton Christian 81, San Juan 63
Jesus Tomasi had 12 points and five assists off the bench, and the Eagles used a 27-12 fourth-quarter spurt to pull away from the Broncos.
South Summit 58, Enterprise 48
Kaden Atkinson scored as season-high 20 points to help the Wildcats rally past the Wolves
Emery 93, Rockwell 34
Zac Jorgensen scored 17 points to lead the Spartans in a rout.
North Summit 70, Delta 44
Waterford 56, Manti 50

The Wolves jumped out to an early lead, going ahead 8-2 on Larry Shurtliff’s shot off the glass with 4:38 left in the first quarter.

The Wildcats were flat, and Hatch could tell. So he inserted a lineup almost entirely made up of reserves like Parker Grajek, Jared Dansie, Kael Atkinson and Kai Rockhill, and the second unit used a combination of defense and hustle plays to pull within 22-17 at halftime.

“My advantage is I have a really good bench,” Hatch said. “These starters know if they aren’t getting the job done, they might not get their job back. That was a big difference.”

After the break, Atkinson went to work. The senior drained three of his season-high six 3-pointers in the third quarter, including two triples in the first three minutes of the half to lift South Summit to a 26-22 advantage.

“The coaches fired us up in the locker room,” Atkinson said. We worked hard all week, and we came out lazy in the first half. But in the second half, we were fired up and wanted to win.

“We were a lot more aggressive.”

Enterprise didn’t go away until the final minutes, even tying the game on Caden Prisby’s 3-point play with 30 seconds left in the third.

But the Wildcats out-ran their opponents 20-14 in the final period to clinch the win and a spot in next week’s 2A quarterfinals at Sevier Valley Center in Richfield.

“The last few games, we’ve been slow,” Atkinson said. “We picked it up when it counted.”

Caden Prisbey led a balanced scoring effort from the Wolves with 16 points. Shurtliff chipped in eight points, and Jayson Holt had seven points, seven rebounds and three steals for Enterprise.

Photos

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsHigh School
Sean Walker

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast