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OGDEN — The Alta Hawks put together one of their most complete games of the season at the best time and defeated the Timpview Thunderbirds 64-53 to claim the 5A boys state title.
Both teams had a tough road to the championship game, and neither was the highest ranked in the 5A playoff bracket. But from the start of the game, it was clear the teams deserved to be the last two standing.
Offense came quickly for both sides as the eighth-ranked Thunderbirds jumped out to a 19-14 lead near the end of the first quarter. Third-ranked Alta had more height along its front line, but Timpview's guards succeeded in getting a step past defenders to finish at the rim.
It allowed Timpview to get most of its points in the post in the first quarter and part of the second, and the Thunderbirds led 21-17 at the end of the first quarter. But that's where the game started to turn.
The Hawks kept a steady offensive pace, but Timpview went cold to finish the half on a three-minute scoring drought. That allowed Alta to take a 1-point lead into the halftime break, 28-27.
"We knew they were going to try to play that style," Alta head coach Travis Ohrn said about Timpview's physicality in the first half. "They kind of like that bully ball style. They're gonna back you down into the paint; they're gonna try to take charges."
The third quarter was all Alta, however, and the Hawks came out of the gate with two consecutive 3-point plays, thanks to players finishing tough layups and getting fouled in the process. Additionally, the team chemistry flowed, especially between junior forward Carter Doleac and junior guard Ace Reiser.
On three straight possessions, Reiser drove into the lane and passed to Doleac, who was hanging around the basket for an easy bucket. The teamwork led to a quick 7 points for the Hawks, and the tandem finished as two of the top three scorers on the team.
Reiser finished with a near double-double effort with 9 points and nine assists, while Doleac scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Junior forward Jaxon Johnson recorded a double-double in the win and finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with four assists and five steals.
"The thing I love is we got so many good players on this team," Ohrn said. "All they wanna do is win. I mean, you go back and look at our box scores, we've had different guys be our leading scorers so many times."
While Timpview struggled to get back into an offensive groove, Alta never let up and continued to run a consistent offense that frequently produced results. Even when the Thunderbirds put pressure on the Hawks by utilizing a full-court press defense, the Hawks found ways to get around the defense and earn easy buckets on the other end of the floor.
Eventually, the Thunderbirds cut the deficit to four with about four minutes left in the game, but the ball movement and unselfish play from the Hawks proved to be too much, and Alta was crowned champions when the final buzzer sounded.
"Just staying the course," Ohrn said when asked about how his team responded to adversity. "We know that they were gonna go on some runs. They started the game out 4-for-6 on 3s, which was shocking. But our guys just stayed the course, they stayed positive, they stayed with the game plan, and they executed down the stretch."
