3A boys state tourney: Manti uses late rally to defeat Richfield in title game

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TAYLORSVILLE — The final game of the 3A boys state tournament took place Saturday at Salt Lake Community College. Follow along with a recap of the tournament games.

Saturday, 09:13pm

Final: Manti beats Richfield to claim 3A championship

TAYLORSVILLE — The Richfield Wildcats controlled most of the championship matchup Saturday night before a fourth quarter resurgence by the Manti Templars to claim a 60-54 win. The final quarter was a slug fest, with neither team leading by more than 2 points until the 4:20 mark. But Manti’s Travis Thompson hit a 3-pointer to give the Templars a 5-point lead and to break from the deadlock. Fouls were the theme of the final eight minutes as eight consecutive times down the floor a player from each team made an appearance at the line. Richfield’s underdog mentality slipped as the Templars extended their lead to seven in the final two minutes of play. Richfield found its groove and the Wildcats cut Manti’s lead to one with 53 seconds left. But it wouldn’t be enough to regain the lead as the Templars prevailed to claim the 3A state title. "I don’t doubt my team at all and I don’t doubt my coaches. They know what they’re doing," Thompson said. "We came out with intensity and we believed in each other." Richfield started out the game with an underdog mentality and jumped out to an early 9-2 lead. Their aggressiveness and quick offensive play was tough for the Templars to handle as the Wildcats finished the first quarter ahead by eight. The Wildcats' physicality continued to overpower the Templars in the second quarter. Richfield’s Hayden Harward hit a 3-pointer, which was followed up by Morgan Albrecht drawing a blocking foul to swing momentum in Richfield’s favor. The Wildcats led by as much as 11 points until Manti’s Grady Thompson hit a 3-pointer to quiet the rowdy Richfield crowd. Manti clawed its way back into the game behind a 12-point first half performance by Thompson, and the Templars went on a 6-2 run to wrap up the first half. Richfield held onto a 6-point lead at halftime, as a late Templars run slowed the Wildcat's momentum. Manti continued its momentum coming out of halftime and knocked down two shots to cut Richfield's lead to four. The Templars tied the game in the third quarter at the 2:49 mark for the first time since the opening tip. Manti took its first lead of the game 50 seconds later. Manti then dominated the fourth quarter to send the upset-minded Wildcats packing. It means a lot to the community," Connor Christiansen said. "The fans, the kids, everyone, it means a lot and we’re excited to bring this one back to Manti." — Brayden Ramsay, KSL.com

Friday, 11:48pm

Semifinal: Richfield advances to 3A final behind emotional performance from Albrecht

TAYLORSVILLE — Richfield knocked off No. 2-seeded Emery 58-41 Friday night to advance to the 3A final thanks to an explosive offensive performance facilitated by point guard Morgan Albrecht. Albrecht played Friday’s semifinal game with a heavy heart and help from above. The senior recorded a double-double on the one-year anniversary of his mother’s death from cancer. "I played for her," Albrecht said. "I write on my wrist with tape before every game, especially today. It’s a huge part of how I played." As Richfield scrambled to get a shot off in the final ticks of the third quarter, Albrecht jumped and fired a 3-pointer from straight behind the arc and drained it as time expired. His teammates, wearing socks with Annicka Albecht’s initials and purple hearts, her favorite color, mobbed him as the fans roared. "We probably had a little help from my mom up there," said Albrecht, who finished with 12 points and 13 boards. "I’m not that good of a shooter, so that was not me." With about five minutes to play until halftime, not one Richfield player, other than Hayden Harwood, had scored. Haywood, dropped four threes to keep Richfield within sight of Emery, until, as Albrecht said, the team started playing to win. With that mindset, the Wildcats did more than win the third quarter, they ran away with it. The Wildcats caught fire and went on a 9-0 run, pushing the ball in transition to close the half with a 20-18 advantage and holding all the momentum in their corner. Richfield began the second half right where they left off — lighting it up in transition and moving the ball as much as possible, tiring out the Spartan defense. Showing signs of fatigue on the other end of the floor, Emery had difficulty getting shots off — when they did manage to, the shots were flat. With a head full of steam, the Wildcats took a 13-point lead into the final quarter, where they coasted to the win. The win marks the second time Richfield will play in the championship game in as many years. The Wildcats fell to Morgan in the final game last year. They now move on to face Manti for all the marbles Saturday at 7 p.m. MST. — Ty Bianucci, KSL.com

Friday, 10:08pm

Semifinal: Blauer helps Manti rally by Judge Memorial for title bid

TAYLORSVILLE — Jordan Blauer’s first 3-point attempt for Manti in Friday night’s Class 3A state semifinal went for nothing. Literally, nothing — an airball against Judge Memorial, which led the Templars by six, seven and six points after each of the three quarters, respectively. He wasn’t going to live with that result, though. Blauer had 24 points, seven rebounds and two huge blocks to help top-seeded Manti rally for a 65-55 win over Judge Memorial at Bruin Arena. “After I airballed the first one, I just had to keep shooting,” Blauer said. “I know I’m a good shooter, and I can help my team out. Then just going through my mind, I knew I had to knock some down.” Kevin Clark scored 20 points, and Grady Thompson added 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Templars (24-1). Every time the Templars tried to come back from an early deficit, Judge Memorial (19-7) was there to stop them. Joshua Icasiano hit a step-back jumper to go up 16-10 after one. A dominant Bulldog post bullying its way to three-straight trips to the foul line to end the first half up 28-21. After trailing 44-38 after three quarters, Blauer and the Templars weren’t going to let another comeback fall short. “It’s just controlling what you can control — and understanding what a fearless mind does in those circumstances,” Manti coach Devin Shakespear said. “I thought our guys exemplified it, having a fearless mind and understanding what we can control.” Clark scored back-to-back buckets to pace a 7-0 run in the third, pulling the Templars within two, 30-28 on a transition layup with 4:50 left in the quarter. Judge squeezed out a 44-38 lead after three, but Thompson’s triple with 6:40 on the clock pulled Manti back within a bucket, 45-43. Then Blauer did his best, nailing back-to-back triples from opposite sides of the court en route to a 59-52 advantage with 2:40 to go — a lead the Templars would never relinquish. “The first quarter, we were playing a lot of one-v-one and iso,” Blauer admitted. “In the second half, we worked as a team. That’s when we do our best. — when we work as a team.” Deng Mayar had 12 points and six rebounds to lead Judge Memorial, which got 11 points and four rebounds from Got Daw. The Templars will face the winner of Richfield and Emery in Saturday’s state championship. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST at Bruin Arena.

Thursday, 03:49pm

Quarterfinal: Richfield outlasts Morgan 41-36 in defensive slugfest

TAYLORSVILLE — Richfield held off a pesky Morgan team 41-36 Thursday afternoon in a defensive slugfest to advance to the semifinals for a rematch against No. 2-seed Emery. Hayden Harward was quiet in the first half, but the Richfield guard came alive in the third quarter, and proved to be the difference maker for the Wildcats. Harward drained two 3-pointers and scored seven of the Wildcats’ 11 points in the quarter. With his prodding, his team took a 28-24 lead into the fourth quarter, where they were able to eliminate their No. 6-seeded foe. Harward’s 12 second-half points were good enough for second on the team in game totals. Richfield's leading scorer Josh Thalman, who finished the game with 13 points, a chunk fewer than his season average of 20 points per game. Both teams were anemic on offense despite timely play — Morgan shot 29.5% from the field, while Richfield shot just 34.1%. The Wildcats leaned on Thalman for his offensive output in the early going, riding his 7-point first quarter to a 9-5 lead. The game’s first half moved at a glacial pace, with both teams taking their time on the offensive end. Midway through the second quarter, the Wildcats held a 17-5 lead. Morgan took a timeout to regroup and suddenly the Trojans were reenergized, playing a swarming defense and forcing tough shots. They began to crawl their way back, first with a 3-point play from Andrew Russell and then, with under a minute left to play in the half, Morgan tied the game at 17. It wasn’t enough to keep the Trojans’ season alive, though, as they finished the season 13-9. Richfield, 11-1 in the new year, now faces the team in Emery that handed the Wildcats their only loss. The game, whose winner will head to the championship round, is set to tip off Friday at 9:10 p.m. MST. — Ty Bianucci, KSL.com

Thursday, 02:18pm

Quarterfinal: Emery overcomes slow start to rout South Sevier in 65-51 win

TAYLORSVILLE — Emery started out its quarterfinal game slow against the South Sevier Rams, but it didn’t take long for the shots to start falling as the Spartans cruised to a 65-51 win in the 3A boys state basketball tournament Thursday. Seth Justice, who made six 3-pointers in a game where both teams combined for 17 threes, led the Spartans with 18 points and six rebounds in the win. He was joined by Brax Jensen’s 15 points and 10 assists, and Jordan Ekker’s 13 points, which included three 3-pointers. The Spartans only managed 10 points in the first quarter, but had strong second and third quarters to overwhelm the Rams, who eventually trailed Emery by 20 points late in the fourth quarter. Emery used a 17-point performance that included a 12-2 run in the second quarter to eventually take a 9-point lead into the halftime break. Out of the break, Justice hit back-to-back threes, which was followed up by a three from Ekker, and the rout was on. The Spartans scored 26 points in the quarter, the most in the game, to build up a comfortable lead that South Sevier could never overcome. The Rams were led in scoring by Brandt Williams’ 14 points and 10 rebounds. Brennen Hunt added 12 points and seven rebounds in the quarterfinal loss. Emery advances to the semifinal round where it will play the winner of the Richfield-Morgan game. The game will be played at Salt Lake Community College on Friday at 9:10 p.m. MST. — Josh Furlong, KSL.com

Thursday, 01:10pm

Quaterfinal: No. 1-seed Manti cruises to 67-54 victory over Grantsville

TAYLORSVILLE — No. 1-seed Manti cruised to a 67-54 victory Thursday afternoon in Bruin Arena, taking down a Grantsville team that never gave up. Manti jumped out to a commanding 14-2 lead out of the gate thanks to its red-hot shooting from beyond the arc and a series of turnovers from Grantsville. Manti never looked back. The Templars improved to 23-1, with their only loss coming in December. The starting five for Manti, who all average double-digit points per game, were true to form. They all scored more than 10 points, led by senior Kevin Clark, with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. Manti outscored their opponents 18-2 on fastbreak points and dominated in the paint, making it difficult for Grantsville to make any headway in the game. The Templars beat Grantsville on its own floor Dec. 6, but a lot had changed since that game. The Cowboys had a lackluster start to the season, but came into the tournament hot, having won eight of their last 10. After getting smacked in the mouth at the start of the game, Grantsville called a timeout to try and regain its composure, and for a few minutes it looked like they had, slowly chipping away at the Manti lead and tightening up on defense. Once the second quarter started, however, the Templar rout was back on. They went on an 11-1 run to create a 16-point cushion. Faced with the large deficit, again, Grantsville didn’t give up, going on a 9-5 stretch of its own after a much-needed timeout with 4:16 left in the half. Going into halftime, the Templars led 33-21. By the fourth quarter, Grantsville had grown tired from playing catch-up and suddenly Manti was finding easy lanes to the basket and open looks from deep. Although the Templars were in control the whole game, they were finally able to put the game out of reach from Grantsville, flirting with a 20-point advantage. Ammon Bartley did his best to keep the Cowboys within striking distance, shooting 4-of-5 on 3-point attempts, part of 14 points on the day. He was a difference maker for Grantsville, also snagging nine rebounds. Manti continues its tournament play against No. 4-seed Judge Memorial Friday at 7:30 p.m. MST. — Ty Bianucci, KSL.com

Thursday, 11:21am

Quarterfinal: 2Q woes doom San Juan, Judge advances in 66-63 win

TAYLORSVILLE — The Judge Memorial Bulldogs escaped some early drama and held on to beat the San Juan Broncos 66-63 in the quarterfinal round of the 3A boys state tournament Thursday. The Bulldogs controlled a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, but San Juan’s Shaw Nielsen hit four 3-pointers in the quarter, including a 40-foot three with a defender in his face, to cut Judge’s lead to one with just over a minute left to play in the game. With one last attempt to take the lead with seven seconds left in the game, San Juan’s Jaxon Torgerson, who finished the day with 17 points, drove to the basket and got the ball up over the defense looking to block the shot. But the ball edged out, and Judge escaped with a narrow victory to advance to the semifinal round Friday. Nielsen finished the game with a team-high 24 points on 8-of-13 from deep in nearly 25 minutes of play. San Juan’s Randall Flavel added 18 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. The Bulldogs fell behind early to a San Juan team that came out firing from behind the 3-point line, but the Bulldogs answered back in the second quarter, including a 13-2 run, on the backs of junior Dom Burns and senior Deng Mayer, who scored 29 of the team’s 37 first-half points. The pair continued their scoring and defensive dominance in the second half. Burns finished the day with a game-high 29 points and Mayers finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and two blocks to lead their team to victory. San Juan fell apart in the second quarter as the team committed multiple turnovers on fastbreak attempts and failed to hit baskets under the rim. The poor quarter would end up dooming the late run. Judge Memorial awaits the winner of the Manti-Grantsville game. The semifinal game will be played at Salt Lake Community College on Friday at 7:30 p.m. MST. — Josh Furlong, KSL.com

3A boys state tourney: Manti uses late rally to defeat Richfield in title game

By KSL.com Sports | Updated - Feb. 22, 2020 at 9:13 p.m. | Posted - Feb. 20, 2020 at 11:25 a.m.

Final: Manti beats Richfield to claim 3A championship

Semifinal: Richfield advances to 3A final behind emotional performance from Albrecht

Semifinal: Blauer helps Manti rally by Judge Memorial for title bid

Quarterfinal: Richfield outlasts Morgan 41-36 in defensive slugfest

Quarterfinal: Emery overcomes slow start to rout South Sevier in 65-51 win

Quaterfinal: No. 1-seed Manti cruises to 67-54 victory over Grantsville

Quarterfinal: 2Q woes doom San Juan, Judge advances in 66-63 win

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3A boys state tourney: Manti uses late rally to defeat Richfield in title game

By KSL.com Sports | Updated - Feb. 22, 2020 at 9:13 p.m. | Posted - Feb. 20, 2020 at 11:25 a.m.

Final: Manti beats Richfield to claim 3A championship

Semifinal: Richfield advances to 3A final behind emotional performance from Albrecht

Semifinal: Blauer helps Manti rally by Judge Memorial for title bid

Quarterfinal: Richfield outlasts Morgan 41-36 in defensive slugfest

Quarterfinal: Emery overcomes slow start to rout South Sevier in 65-51 win

Quaterfinal: No. 1-seed Manti cruises to 67-54 victory over Grantsville

Quarterfinal: 2Q woes doom San Juan, Judge advances in 66-63 win

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