Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Highland was all over Olympus through three quarters of its 5A state semifinal.
But to paraphrase Titans coach Matt Barnes, that's why you play 32 minutes.
Jordan Barnes poured in 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists; and Reef Smylie scored 17 with five rebounds as Olympus rallied past Highland 57-50 Tuesday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center to advance to the 5A championship game for the second time in three years.
Dutch DowDwell had 12 points and four rebounds for the Titans, who shot just 6-of-32 from 3-point range, including 1-of-16 in the second half.
"They came out and really punched us in the mouth. I don't think we were really expecting that," said Barnes, whose team trailed 34-31 at halftime. "At halftime, we were down 3, and we just said, 'It's a long way from over' — even at the end of the third. ... We just had to find a way — and it started with our defense. We got stops, and then we got buckets, and then it started going our way."
George McConkie had 15 points, 11 rebounds and three steals for Highland (19-7), and Sefa Brown added 14 points and five rebounds.
The Rams shot 57% from the field in the first half and jumped out to a 20-12 first-quarter lead, and Brown scored 10 points to help Highland to a 34-31 halftime advantage.
Highland led by as much as 11 and took a 68-39 lead into the final frame. But Barnes connected on a 3-pointer to pull the Titans within 48-44 with five minutes remaining, and then tied the game from the free-throw line with 2:31 remaining.
"I just told them, we've got plenty of time. We just had to get one stop at a time," Barnes said. "Possession by possession, and we hit the press to rattle them. ... But it was go-time; we had to try to change the momentum and not let them work us in the half court. They were too big ... and we made just enough plays to get it done."
After DowDell gave Olympus its first lead of the second half with a pair of free throws with 2:01 to play, Brown broke the Titan press for a transition layup that knotted the game at 50-all with 1:55 to go.
But Smylie scored down low with 1:17 to go, and the Titans closed out the win from the free-throw line, outscoring the Rams 18-2 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
"I went to the line, and you've got a lot of nerves," Barnes said. "But we work on those in practice, and we say, picture yourself at the Huntsman. So we walked in there confident, put us up, and that was big."
No. 1 Alta 72, No. 4 Timpview 60
Utah commit Jaxon Johnson poured in 21 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks to help the Hawks rally for a 12-point win over Timpview in the other semifinal.
Carter Doleac added 18 points and seven rebounds for Alta (24-3), and Zak Paepke supplied 16 points and four rebounds.
Dean Rueckert led Timpview (19-7) with 25 points and four rebounds; Aisa Galea'i supplied 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Mason Ford added 8 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunderbirds.
Alta was the higher seed, but the fourth-seeded Thunderbirds started hot. Rueckert — the four-star sophomore who holds offers from BYU, Cal, UNLV, Utah Valley and Washington, among others — pumped in 12 points in the first quarter, including back-to-back threes midway through the period, to help Timpview to a 21-11 lead after the opening frame.
Timpview crashed the glass in the second quarter, and Rueckert continued his scoring ways, giving the Thunderbirds a 10-point lead twice including on a step-back jumper in the final seconds of the half to take a 40-30 advantage into the locker room.
Rueckert scored 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the first half, adding four rebounds for a Timpview team that outrebounded Alta 20-14.
But the Hawks came back, cutting the deficit to just 52-47 before the fourth quarter.
Johnson connected on a 3-pointer to give Alta its first lead since the game's earliest stages, 55-52 with 6:45 remaining. The Hawks outscored Timpview 23-8 to put the game away for good.
