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KAYSVILLE — The opening round of the Northern Utah Shootout Tournament pitted the 2-0 Olympus Titans against the 1-2 Weber Warriors Thursday night.
Olympus led by a narrow 21-17 margin after one quarter, with sophomores Dutch DowDell and Jordan Barnes each scoring 7 points apiece to build an early lead for the Titans. The two may have shared the scoring load in the first quarter but the second quarter was all Barnes.
The 6-foot-3 guard exploded for 20 of the team's 23 points in the quarter en route to a 44-24 lead at the halftime break.
The Titans continued their charge out of halftime and outscored the Warriors 29-9 in the third quarter before officially closing out the game for a 95-44 lopsided win.
"It was a great win for us," Titans head coach and Jordan's father, Matt Barnes, said. "I thought we handled their speed and athleticism really well. We have a good group of guys, and when they play that way good things happen for us."
Jordan Barnes finished with a career-high 31 points as the Titans improved to 3-0 on the year.
"I realized they weren't going to let Dutch shoot or Jack (Wistrcill) get the ball, so someone had to step up," Barnes said. "And once they started going under the screens, I was able to capitalize on the open looks and get in a good rhythm."
In his freshman season, Barnes started a majority of the games for the Titans, but he's become even stronger the begin his sophomore campaign. He currently leads the state in assists at 41 and is averaging 2.3 steals per game, which is tied for the eighth-highest average in 5A.
"I think I just feel more confident and that's allowed me to come out and play with an aggressive attitude," Barnes said. "Last year, I was just trying to get the ball where it was supposed to go and took a back seat versus this year I have that mindset that I can score and go make plays for my teammates."
Matt Barnes has watched his son develop as player over the years and credits his work ethic for the strides he's made in his game.
"It's a lot of work in progress, and he's gotten better every day," Matt Barnes said. "He loves to pass so we've really been working on his overall offensive game, and he got it going tonight."
Weber hit the first shot of the second quarter to pull within 1 points but only scored 5 more points the rest of the quarter as they struggled with the Titans' physicality. The Warriors were led in scoring by sophomore Hunter Schenck and Junior Griffyn Doughty, who had 11 points apiece.
Defensively, the Titans locked in and held the Warriors to only one quarter with more than 11 points. Olympus stayed committed in the second half and didn't allow Weber to score a basket in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
The Titans' front court of the 6-foot-8 Wistrcill and 6-foot-5 Anthony Olsen also gave the Warriors trouble as Olympus outrebound Weber 41-23 and 12-3 on the offensive glass.
Olympus will play West Jordan at 8:15 p.m. MT Friday, while Weber will take on Box Elder at 4:55 p.m. MT in the second day of the tournament.
