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OGDEN — Viewmont’s Jake Walker had just come off scoring eight of his game-high 23 points in the third quarter, including a go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Vikings their first lead of the second half on powerhouse Lone Peak.
With the game tied at 61-61 with 12 seconds left, Walker took the ball off the in-bounds pass and quickly dribbled up the middle of the court. There were three options for the Vikings’ final play, one for Walker and another for Viewmont star Austin Johnson.
The 6-foot guard knew which of the former two he wanted: neither.
Walker took the third option, dishing an assist to teammate Josh Richins for a wide-open 3-pointer from the right corner. The senior swished home a triple at the buzzer to lift the Vikings past the four-time state champion Knights 64-61 in the Class 5A boys basketball state quarterfinals Wednesday at Weber State’s Dee Events Center.
“It’s just practice. I’ve been shooting every day in practice, and corner shots are one of my favorite shots,” said Richins, who finished with five points. “I felt pretty confident that I could go up and knock that down.
“As soon as I released it, I knew it was in. I wasn’t worried at all.”
The Vikings (15-9) will face Region 1 foe Layton in a 5A semifinal Friday at 4:10 p.m.
Johnson finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds for Viewmont, which made 11-of-24 3-pointers and dished out 18 assists on 21 made shots.
Richins had attempted two shots before his game-winner, making one of them, but he didn’t hesitate once Walker gave him the ball.
“He’s a shooter. Shooter’s shoot, and that’s what I tell him,” Viewmont coach Jeff Emery said of Richins. “If you miss 25 in a row, you have to believe 26 is going in or you’d better not shoot anymore. That’s what we believe in; he stepped up and got it done.”
Lone Peak (18-7) took a 31-24 lead at halftime behind Christian Popoola, who scored 14 of his team-high 19 points before the break. But Viewmont wouldn’t go away, slowly chipping away at the lead through the third quarter before Walker tied the game at 42-42 on a layup following his own steal with 1:40 left in the third.
“We had guys come in and battle to keep us in it in the first half,” Emery said. “You have to be in it at the half, and just give yourself a chance to win in the second half. I thought our guys did a great job of that.”
The Knights took back the lead on back-to-back treys from Tyson Doman and Talmage Gunther to start the fourth quarter, but Gunther’s three from the top of the key gave Lone Peak a 50-45 lead with 6:38 remaining.
Still, the Vikings wouldn’t go away — and a defensive stop led to the team’s next turnaround. Viewmont’s 6-foot-7 forward James Walton blocked a shot underneath his own basket, then followed with a pass to Johnson, who dished to Walker for the easy layup to pull ahead 53-52 with 5:15 left.
Popoola made a pair of free throws on Lone Peak’s next possession, but Johnson gave the Vikings a 55-54 lead it would never fully give up two minutes later on a spinning drive to the rim.
Doman fouled out to send Walker to the line, and the Viewmont point guard made both free throws to go up 61-59 with 26 seconds left. Nick Curtis’ putback basket then tied the game for Lone Peak with 12 seconds remaining, and setting up Richins’ heroic final shot.
“It always goes through my head, making a game-winning shot,” said Richins, who admitted he didn’t expect to get the ball in the final sequence. “It’s been one of my dreams. But it’s reality now; I’m glad.”
Viewmont has won five-straight games since a 55-40 loss to Davis on Feb. 6. The Knights finished the season losing three of their final four games.
“There are still tons of good teams. We can’t just let ourselves be satisfied,” Richins said. “We’ve got to go and be hungry for Layton on Friday.”
