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WEST VALLEY CITY — Orem had never won a basketball state championship in the 56 year history of the school. This year's team was on a mission to change that.
Mission accomplished Saturday as the Tigers held off Olympus 58-50 to claim the 4A state basketball championship.
"It's amazing," says sophomore forward Dalton Nixon. "I'm loving it right now. It was a great team effort tonight. I'm happy with the way we played."
Orem went on a 14-0 run in the 2nd quarter to take a 23-12 lead. Olympus would make their own 12-4 run to close the gap to 3. Just before the half Orem's Zach Hunsaker beat the clock with a three that gave the tigers a six point lead.
The Tigers would open up another double digit lead in the 3rd quarter but Olympus kept charging. A Nick Barney three late in the 4th would cut the Orem lead to four but that is as close as the Titans would get. Orem fans were finally able to celebrate their first championship.
It's amazing. I'm loving it right now. It was a great team effort tonight. I'm happy with the way we played.
–Dalton Nixon
"I'm humbled almost, you know?" says senior forward Josh Pollard. "there's been a lot of good teams to come through Orem and a lot of teams have lost in the championship. We talked about how we wanted to be first and hopefully we set up a legacy."
Dalton Nixon led Orem with 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting. Orem shot 45 percent from the field and 55 percent from the three-point line while holding Olympus to just 36 percent shooting.
Olympus was led by Will Cannon who scored 13 points and pulled down 9 rebounds.
Orem finishes the season 24-1 with their only loss coming to West Jordan.The Tigers return three starters next season and should be favored to repeat as champions in 2013.
