5A basketball tourney blog: Semifinals now set

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OGDEN — Boys basketball teams returned to play in the 5A state basketball tournament at the Dee Events Center in Ogden for Thursday's quarterfinals. The tournament will go through the week, with a champion being named Saturday.

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Thursday, 09:56pm

Quarterfinal: Corner Canyon holds on to beat Highland and reach semifinal

OGDEN — Corner Canyon filled the fourth and final semifinal spot thanks to a huge first quarter against Highland. Corner Canyon came out firing, beginning the game on an 11-3 run. The Chargers made 10 of their 14 first quarter shot attempts and led 25-12 going into the second quarter. Corner Canyon head coach Dan Lunt was impressed with the way his team came out in the first half. “I think anytime you show up and do the tough, energy stuff, everything else takes care of itself,” Lunt said. “I thought we did that in the first half.” The Chargers cooled down a bit in the second quarter but still maintained their lead thanks to a major contribution from Gabe Tooms. Tooms led the Chargers in the first half, scoring 17 points while making seven of his nine shot attempts. As for the Rams, Nate Warr had a big first half, hitting three shots from behind the arc on his way to 11 first-half points. Despite his big half, the Rams still trailed the Chargers 38-26 at the break. The third quarter was a back-and-forth, defensive battle. Corner Canyon wasn’t ever able to extend their lead beyond 12 points, but Highland wasn’t ever able to get the lead below eight. Highland would win the quarter, 9-8, to enter the fourth down by 11, 46-35. The Rams pulled together a couple stops in the fourth quarter and gave themselves opportunities to cut into the Chargers lead. A Liki Makaui steal led to a Christian Rich fast-break layup to cut the Chargers lead to six, 51-45, with just under four minutes remaining. On the following play, the Rams got a steal and drew a foul for two Jackson Hawes free throws to cut the lead to just four. That’s the closest the Rams would get, as the Chargers responded with back-to-back shots to bring the lead back to eight. The Chargers hit their free throws down the stretch, finishing 18-of-20 from the free throw line in the game, on their way to a 13-0 run that put them up 64-47 in the final minute. “In the last four minutes we made some plays,” Lunt said. “It started on the defensive end, which translated to buckets down here and getting to the free throw line.” Tooms led the Chargers in the win, scoring 20 points and hauling in 13 rebounds. “Gabe is a great scorer,” Lunt said. “He can score in a variety of ways and that’s why he’s so tough to guard.” Three Rams scored in double figures in the loss. Christian Rich had 12 and Jackson Hawes and Nate Warr each added 11. Corner Canyon will take on Olympus in the other 5A state semifinal at Weber State. The game will tip at 5:50 p.m. on Friday. — Paul Swenson, KSL.com

Thursday, 09:52pm

Quarterfinal: Olympus uses big second half to beat Timpanogos

OGDEN — Olympus overcame a cold first half to light up Timpanogos to secure their spot in the 5A semifinals. The Titans fell behind early in the first half as Timpanogos took an early lead, thanks to some hot shooting. The Timberwolves shot a scorching 69 percent from the field in the first half, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Things weren’t going so hot for Olympus, however, who shot just 39 percent and turned the ball over six times in the first half. The Timberwolves’ hot shooting and solid defense put them ahead for most of the first half, including a 10-point lead at the break, 26-16. The Titans came alive in the third quarter, limiting the Timberwolves to only 4 points while scoring 19 of their own. Olympus head coach Matt Barnes said his team made it a point of emphasis to apply more pressure on the defensive side of the ball in the second half. “We tried to step up, put a little pressure on them on the handoffs and the on-ball screens,” Barnes said After a Timberwolves basket made it a 30-22 lead, Olympus finally saw the lid come off the basket on their end of the floor. The Titans ended the quarter on a 13-0 run, including hitting three shots from downtown, to take a 35-30 lead into the final quarter. “You just got to keep playing.” Barnes said. “It’s a 32-minute game. Sometimes it’s great, sometimes you’re rolling and sometimes you’ve got to dig a little deeper. We had to dig a little deeper.” The Olympus run would continue in the fourth quarter. Rylan Jones hit five free throws and dropped in a layup for a 7-0 run of his own to give the Titans a 42-30 lead. Jones’ run also made it a 20-0 Olympus run going back to the third quarter. Once the Titans got rolling, it seemed like everything was going in. “It’s like Steph Curry and all those guys,” Jones said. “They see one go in and they’re shooting that baby as many times as they can.” Timpanogos finally put an end to the bleeding with a Trey Anderson three, but the momentum was already in the Titans favor. Jackson Frank hit back-to-back threes from each corner and the Olympus lead jumped up to 15, 51-35. Olympus kept their foot on the gas until the end, winning 60-42. Jones finished the game with 22 points, five assists and five rebounds; Frank added 11 points; and Jeremy Dowdell dropped in 19 for the Titans. “My kids were terrific,” Barnes said. “Rylan and Jeremy have been our two guys all year. … They’re unbelievable.” Matt Norman led the way for Timpanogos with 13 points in the loss. — Paul Swenson, KSL.com

Thursday, 07:43pm

Quarterfinal: Jordan overcomes slow start, pounds Murray

OGDEN — Jordan pounded Murray, 61-43, in the second 5A semifinal of the day. The Beetdiggers doubled up the Spartans on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 40-18 and outscoring Murray 36-18 in the paint. Jordan coach Trace Bevell said pounding the ball inside was part of his team’s game plan. “We knew they’d have a hard time guarding us down low because of our size and we just tried to do everything we could to get it down low,” he said. Things didn’t go according to plan for the Beetdiggers at the beginning, however, as Murray started the game on fire. The Spartans hit three straight threes at the hands of Jalen Thompson and Carson Lingwall, and the Spartans built themselves a 13-1 lead. Jordan responded, however, closing the quarter on a 10-0 run to make it a two-point game, 13-11, going into the second. The second quarter was back and forth. Jordan took their first lead of the game after a Terryn Mosley three, but Murray came right back to retake the lead, heading into halftime up 24-22. Jordan started to pick up the intensity in the third quarter, limiting the Spartans to only eight points on the defensive end while pounding the ball inside on their way to 18 points of their own. “We’ve got to guard and keep teams from scoring,” Bevell said. “You can score all you want, but you’ve got to be able to guard sooner or later.” Murray scored the first basket of the quarter to take a 26-22 lead, but Dyson Koehler would lead the way for the Beetdiggers for the rest of the quarter, as Jordan would take a 40-32 lead into the fourth. The Beetdiggers kept the momentum going in the fourth behind Koehler and Mosley, finishing the game out strong for an 18-point victory. Koehler led the way for the Beetdiggers, finishing with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Koehler said the key to the way his team played in the second half was defense and attacking on offense. “They were smaller than us, so we just tried to get it in the paint and attack,” he said. Mosley and Tevita Mafileo also had nice contributions for Jordan, adding 14 and 11 points apiece. Ajak Arok finished with 15 points for the Spartans in the loss. Jordan will take on East in the 5A state semifinal at the Dee Events Center on the campus of Weber State University. The game will tip at 7:10 p.m. on Friday. — Paul Swenson, KSL.com

Thursday, 07:34pm

Quarterfinal: Big second half leads East over Skyridge

OGDEN — East used a huge second half to upset Skyridge 60-53 in the first of Thursday’s four 5A quarterfinal games. East head coach Mitch Smith had only two words to describe what the win meant to him and his team. "It’s big,” he said. Things didn’t look good for East early on, however, as Skyridge started the game off firing on all cylinders. The Falcons jumped out to a 9-2 lead after a huge Trevon Snoddy dunk from an alley-oop pass. East would respond, going on a 13-4 run of their own to take a 15-13 lead. A late Skyridge bucket would tie the score up at 15 to end the first quarter. The Falcons came out strong in the second quarter, as well, using an 8-0 run midway through the quarter to make the lead as much as nine. A couple of stops and scores on the part of East made the score 28-23 at the break. The third quarter was all East. After Braden Allfrey hit a three to start the second half for the Falcons, East responded with a 10-0 run of their own thanks to multiple baskets by Kok Daw. A few minutes later, Taylor Zwick hit back-to-back threes, and Andre Mulibea hit three free throws after getting fouled on a three-point attempt to give the Leopards their largest lead of the game, 44-36, going into the fourth. After trading baskets to start the quarter, a Skyridge run led by Duncan Reid pulled the Falcons to within three, 51-48, with two minutes remaining. A defensive stop and two free throws from Duncan made the score 51-50 before another Zwick three, this time from the corner, pushed the East lead back to four, 54-50, with 38 seconds to go. “I told Taylor Zwick in the corner, don’t shoot that ball, what does he do? He makes it and blows me a kiss,” Smith said on the guts of his Zwick and his team after the win. “I’ve done that shot so many times. If I’m open, I’m going to shoot it no matter what happens, so I shot it,” Zwick said. Zwick finished the game with 17 points while shooting 5-of-11 from three. “He struggled last game, and today he just wanted to win. He forgot himself and just played to win,” Smith said. “That is a man.” Daw would also finish with 17 points apiece for the Leopards as Mulibea led the team with 19. Reid led the Falcons with 22 points in the loss. — Paul Swenson, KSL.com

5A basketball tourney blog: Semifinals now set

Updated - Feb. 28, 2019 at 9:55 p.m. | Posted - Feb. 28, 2019 at 6:26 p.m.

Quarterfinal: Corner Canyon holds on to beat Highland and reach semifinal

Quarterfinal: Olympus uses big second half to beat Timpanogos

Quarterfinal: Jordan overcomes slow start, pounds Murray

Quarterfinal: Big second half leads East over Skyridge

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5A basketball tourney blog: Semifinals now set

Updated - Feb. 28, 2019 at 9:55 p.m. | Posted - Feb. 28, 2019 at 6:26 p.m.

Quarterfinal: Corner Canyon holds on to beat Highland and reach semifinal

Quarterfinal: Olympus uses big second half to beat Timpanogos

Quarterfinal: Jordan overcomes slow start, pounds Murray

Quarterfinal: Big second half leads East over Skyridge

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Cafe Rio Player of the Game Jack Thompson

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