For three quarters the Judge Memorial boys basketball team had West's Panthers right where they wanted them. Despite being on the road, the Bulldogs jumped to an early lead which they held for most of the game.
But then came a dry spell - make that a drought - where the Bulldogs went more than seven-and-a-half minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter. The result was a 56-45 Region Six victory for the Panthers Wednesday night."We picked the defense a notch or two up in the second half, and that was the key," West coach Bob Lyman said. "Judge is a very well-coached team and they execute really well, so we we're fortunate to get a victory."
The win improves West to 4-4 overall and 1-1 in league action, while Judge falls to 2-6 and 0-2.
Forward Zach Pino scored eight first quarter points to lead the Bulldogs to a 17-12 advantage. By halftime Judge led 28-22 with the key being that the Bulldogs held Chris Stepan, West's high scoring junior guard, to just four points.
"I thought we played good defense. We really held Stepan down, and he's a great offensive player" Judge coach Jim Yerkovich said.
In the third quarter Judge's 6-foot-9 center Ben Melmeth scored six points early to give Judge a 35-26 lead. But the Panthers went on a 10-4 run to close out the period and trailed by just three going into the final quarter.
Stepan, who entered the game as the leading scorer in class 3A, finally got it going early in the fourth. He made two quick hoops to give the Panthers a 40-39 lead, their first of the game, with just under six minutes to play.
For the Bulldogs, which opened region play with a two-point loss to Granite last Friday, it was their second disappointing setback in as many games. "We really could be 2-0 instead of 0-2 right now," Yerkovich said.
Pino and Melmeth finished with 15 points apeice for the Bulldogs.
Elsewhere in the state:
Region Six
Tooele 89, Murray 64
At Tooele, in a game pitting two of the favorites to win the region crown, it was no contest. The fourth-ranked Buffaloes (8-1, 2-0) scored 33 points in the second quarter and coasted to victory. "Everything was going our way," Tooele coach Clyde Ahlquist said. "I would have never expected us to beat them by 25 points. I thought it would be a one or two point game, but we just got hot."
The Buffs, who are off to their best start since 1980, were led by Todd Warner's 22 points, while point guard Marc Lawson added 20.
Jordan 51, Bountiful 38
At Jordan, the Beetdiggers outscored the Braves 12-2 in the second quarter to give them a 22-11 halftime advantage. Bountiful never was able to mount a comeback. Center Koy Lombardi led Jordan's balanced attack with 10 points, while Kirk Welch added nine. Bountiful's Roger Adams led all scorers with 11 points on the night. Jordan is now 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the league, while Bountiful falls to 3-5 and 1-1.
Woods Cross 56, Granite 48
At Woods Cross, the Wildcats won their first game of the year behind Matt Cosper's 19 points. Despite a forgettable preseason, the win moves Woods Cross (1-7, 1-1) right into the thick of the Region Six race. Guard Jamie Coombs added 14 for the Wildcats, while 6-foot-4 center Shawn Kearns pitched in 10. Granite, which falls to 3-5 on the year and 1-1 in the league, was paced by Pat McGrath's 17 points.
Region Seven
Lehi 63, Wasatch 54
At Wasatch, the Pioneers were paced to a region opening win by Joe Mattson's 25 points. The Wasps led by four at the end of the first quarter, but Lehi outscored Wasatch 20-9 in the second quarter and that was the difference in the game. Barton Gertsch scored 31 points in the losing cause.
Union 75, Uintah 49
While the first Utah/BYU basketball game of the year is still weeks away, Wednesday night the Cougars of Union had little trouble beating the Utes from Uintah. The Cougars showed why they are one of the favorites to win the league crown, as they improved their record to 6-3, 1-0 on the year. The Utes fell to 3-5 and 0-1.
Emery 76, Carbon 65
On paper it appeared it would be a mismatch when the 8-2 Spartans hosted the 0-10 Dinosaurs, but in reality it was a pretty even game. Still, Emery was able to win the region opener for both teams by 11 points.