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OGDEN — When the clock hit zeroes and the buzzer sounded at Weber State’s Dee Events Center, all Bobby Porter could do was stand inside the purple-framed court and emphatically fist-pump.
Before long, assistant coaches, players, friends and family moved in all around him for an embrace. And soon after that, when fans had spilled out of the arena, he would say, “I’m just so happy.”
And indeed, between wielding a glass of sparkling cider, laughing and joking with family and friends, and fashioning a basketball net around his neck, he certainly looked the part on Saturday. He celebrated his fourth state championship as if it were his first.
“This was a great environment,” the Layton Christian Academy head coach said following his team’s 43-36 victory over Parowan in the 2A state championship game. “This is what high school basketball is all about.”
One year after defeating Parowan (22-4) 65-53 in the third-place game, Porter and LCA (22-6) did it again for first place on Saturday night, using 18 points from Sam Muller and 12 more from Dominque Ramikson to tilt a low-scoring affair in their favor.
The Eagles, admittedly, needed everything they could get. They shot just 11 percent from three and 57 percent from the free-throw line, but were able to generate offense via turnovers and running off misses on the defensive end.
“They’re not gonna run with us, we knew that,” Porter said. “It was gonna be a half-court game.”
Calling it a half-court game might be an understatement.
For much of Saturday’s contest, Parawon’s half-court offense used multiple possessions to burn lengthy portions of clock, avoiding threes and patiently waiting for easy scoring opportunities. On the instruction of head coach Lance Stubbs, Rams players stayed on the perimeter and passed around LCA’s zone until cracks formed in the defense, paving the way for backdoor cuts inside and at-rim finishes.
But while it made for a glacial first half — punctuated by an 8-point second quarter — LCA countered this by scoring off turnovers; and by halftime, the Eagles held a narrow 15-13 lead.
Then, coming out of the break, the Eagles dictated the terms of engagement. Gone was the effectiveness of Parowan’s conservative clock-dominant offense, and in its place was a comedy of errors that ignited Layton Christian.
In dizzying succession, LCA’s full-court pressure produced a series of turnovers and missed shots, leading to Lino Saez (4 points, four rebounds), Ramikson (three steals) and Jesus Tomasi (9 points, three steals) finishing off the window. Like that, the Eagles were leading 23-17. The lead would swell to as much as eleven, 34-23, after Tomasi’s and-one layup a few minutes later, and the Eagles were rolling.
But they weren’t out of the woods just yet. In the fourth quarter, two free throws and Max Topham’s (11 points, five rebounds) three brought the Rams within 36-32 before Muller gave the Eagles some breathing room, a 39-32 lead, with a 3-pointer of his own.
While the lead would extend to eight on the ensuing possession — when Tomasi attacked off a turnover, drew a foul and split a pair of free throws — the Rams stayed in striking distance. Topham hit a triple, and one possession later, Porter Wood (16 points, six rebounds) made one of two free throws to pull Parawon within 40-36.
But in the dying seconds of the game, Tomasi finished through contact and hit the accompanying and-one to provide the final score.
“My team pumped me up,” Tomasi said, adding, “this is about us, not me.“ Follow Dillon on Twitter @dillondanderson.
