5A State Boys: Leonhardt shoots Darts past Vikings in boys hoops quarterfinal


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OGDEN — Jesse Wade has attracted a lot of attention from Davis High’s opponents during the 2014-15 boys basketball season, and rightfully so.

With Pleasant Grove focusing on the Gonzaga signee in Wednesday’s Class 5A quarterfinal, Caleb Leonhardt stepped to the 3-point line and carried his team to the finish line.

Leonhardt had 21 points and 11 rebounds, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, to help the Darts down the Vikings 74-63 and advance to the Class 5A boys basketball state semifinals at Weber State’s Dee Events Center.

Leonhardt keyed a 15-0 run during the second quarter, knocking down back-to-back treys to give the Darts (20-3) a 33-27 lead as its offense began to sync up efficiently.

“We just came out with a defense-first mindset, and knew that offense would take care of itself,” Leonhardt said. “It just played out It was awesome. It was so fun.”

Wade finished with a team-high 23 points and four assists, and he made 13-of-14 free throws to help Davis hold onto its lead down the stretch.

Davis' Caleb Leonhardt (24) goes up for a shot as Davis plays Pleasant Grove in the Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinals at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015. (Chelsey Allder/Deseret News)
Davis' Caleb Leonhardt (24) goes up for a shot as Davis plays Pleasant Grove in the Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinals at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015. (Chelsey Allder/Deseret News)

“We were going to run things through Jesse, but we knew the other guys were going to have to step up,” Davis coach Chad Sims said. “I thought Jesse did a great job making the extra pass and doing what he needed to do.”

After taking a 36-29 lead into halftime, Wade opened the second half by scoring four quick points on a pair of steals in the opening 28 seconds of the third quarter. The 6-foot-1 senior made 5-of-14 shots from the field, but his team made 50 percent of its field goals as the Vikings (19-6) offered more space to Davis’ other shooters, including Leonhardt.

“Caleb’s a great player,” Sims said. “We said before the year that he’d be a big part of our success. He’s stepped up all year, and he’s done a great job for us.”

Leonhardt made 7-of-10 shots from the field, including five 3-pointers in 28 minutes of play.

Riley Court rolled to a dominant performance of 21 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four steals for Pleasant Grove, which got 13 points and five rebounds from Daniel Diehl and 11 points each from Brody Childs and Braxton Leetham.

The Vikings rolled to a 20-point win in Monday’s first-round game against Alta, but the Darts never allowed their Utah County opponents to get into the same offensive rhythm as two days previous.

“Pleasant Grove is such a good team,” Leonhardt said. “We had good preparation by our coaches, and came out and executed the game plan.”

The Vikings’ size led to a 39-27 edge on the glass, including a 16-6 disparity in offensive rebounds. But the Darts locked down the post and outscored Pleasant Grove 32-28 in the paint.

We just tried to keep them out of the paint as best we could,” Sims said. “I thought our guys did a great job after we got used to their quickness.”

Davis advanced to face Brighton in a semifinal Friday at 2:10 p.m. Region 1 rivals Layton and Viewmont will square off in the other semifinal at 4:10 p.m. at Weber State.

“Coach Emery (at Viewmont) and Coach Miller (at Layton) have done a great job,” Sims said. “Our region is really tough, and it’s really nice to see those teams in the semifinals.”

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