5A State Boys: Mitchell leads efficient 2nd-half effort as Bengals down Wolverines


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OGDEN — After struggling to pull away from an athletic Hunter team following a tied first half, Brighton found its efficient offense after the break.

In the second half, Brock Miller helped pace the Bengals to an excellent shooting performance. He finished with 30 points and six rebounds, including 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting after the halftime break, to help the Bengals pull away from the Hunter, 65-56, in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A boys basketball state tournament Wednesday night at Weber State’s Dee Events Center.

“Honestly, I have to give credit to my team for finding me in transition,” Miller said. “It was definitely a team win. We came out and our defense led to our offense. That was good for us.”

Miller shot 3 of 10 in the first half as the Bengals (15-9) shot just 32 percent from the field. They were unable to separate themselves from the Wolverines and Oregon State two-sport signee Noah Togiai, who had 17 of his team-high 27 points in the first half.

But after the break, the Bengal offense came alive — and was efficient. Brighton shot 57 percent from the field in the second half, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Miller knocked down 5 of 7 from the field after the break, and the Bengals also distributed 12 assists on 20 total made shots to increase their lead down the stretch.

Brock Miller defends against Hunter during Brighton's win over the Wolverines in the Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinals at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015. (Chelsey Allder/Deseret News)
Brock Miller defends against Hunter during Brighton's win over the Wolverines in the Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinals at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015. (Chelsey Allder/Deseret News)

Miller gave the Bengals a 41-34 lead on a corner 3-pointer with 2:59 left in the third quarter, and Brighton outran the Wolverines (15-10) 20-10 during a key third-quarter stretch.

But that didn’t make the end game any easier for Brighton coach Jeff Gardner.

“I think so much credit needs to go to coach (Rob) Collins and Hunter,” Gardner said. “There were multiple times where we almost got it to 15, and they hit some big shots. He’s done a really good job with that program. I was really pleased with our ability to get out in the open floor and make some big-time plays at big-time moments. We were able to withstand it.”

After Togiai’s first-half explosion, Mitchell took over defensive duties on the 6-foot-4 power forward in the second half and held him to 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

“Togiai’s a great player, and we knew we needed to lock down on him as much as we could,” Mitchell said. “You have to give them credit. Hunter is a good team, and they play really well together. It was good for us to come out and get this one.”

Hunter’s Jake Haram drained a triple with 1:22 left on the clock to pull Hunter within four points, 58-54. But Simi Fehoko’s and-1 drive to the bucket with 33 seconds left gave the Bengals a 60-54 lead to help seal the win.

John Gremillion added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Bengals, who got six points and eight rebounds from Derek Devashraayee, and seven points and four boards from Fehoko.

Joe Arnold had nine points for Hunter, and Haram added eight points for the Wolverines.

“We all like to be peaking right now,” Gardner said. “We’ve had a couple of really good games to build from, and we’ve got to just keep going forward.”

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