Every tournament needs a Cinderella team and Mt. Vernon Academy, a tiny school of 50 students located in Murray, has certainly filled the role so far in the 1A state basketball tournament.
The Patriots, who came in as the No. 4 team from Region 11, won their third straight upset victory Friday night, knocking off Region 11 champion Rowland Hall-St. Marks 72-67 at the Centrum.The win puts Mt. Vernon in the finals against Valley, which beat Region 12 rival Piute 65-57 in the other semifinal. The championship is set for today at 5 p.m.
"We just hustle and try to give it 110 percent," said Mount Vernon Coach Mike Lambson, trying to explain his team's success. "We know we're limited in numbers and size (only one player is taller than 6-foot-1). We stress fundamentals and run hard in practice."
Because the Patriots are also limited depth-wise, Lambson says his team's strategy is to get an early lead and hold on. "We don't play well from behind," said Lambson. "We try to stay close and our kids seem to come through in the clutch."
That's exactly what happened in Friday's contest. Mt. Vernon grabbed the lead after the first quarter and never let up.
The Patriots kept making 3-pointers and the Winged Lions wouldn't come out to guard them. For the night, Mt. Vernon sank 11 3-pointers as Wes Lambson hit five and Brandon Evans three. "All year long we've been a good 3-point shooting team," said Coach Lambson.
Late in the third quarter, Rowland Hall inched out to a three-point lead, but Evans hit a trey and another jumper and Mt. Vernon went into the final quarter ahead 52-50.
In the fourth quarter, Rowland Hall could never catch the Patriots, who hit seven of 10 free throws in the final 90 seconds.
For Mt. Vernon, it will be its first state basketball final. The Patriots' best previous finish was 4th in 1985 when they were also tabbed a "Cinderella" team. They will also be looking for the first state championship in the school's 17-year history.
Evans, the leading scorer in the state this year, led Mt. Vernon with 26 points, Lambson had 19 and Dave Burbank scored 15 and played a fine overall floor game.
Valley 65, Piute 57
The young Buffaloes, who have only one senior on the team, used their tenacious defense to subdue the T-Birds.
"We lost to them two of the last three years in the semifinals, so I guess it was our turn," said Valley Coach Jim Hoyt.
Actually it was Piute's turn if you just count this season. The region rivals had met three times earlier this season with Valley taking the first and third games. But the Buffaloes weren't going to be denied in this one.
"The difference was our defense," said Hoyt. "Earlier in the year we lacked intensity on defense. But so far in the tournament we've played really good defense. The kids just didn't ever let up tonight."
After taking a 37-30 halftime lead, the Buffaloes suddenly got careless with the ball and the T-Birds jumped ahead 38-37. But the Buffs regrouped and outscored Piute 11-2 the rest of the third quarter.
In the final quarter, Valley kept a steady lead and the closest Piute came was five points with less than a minute left.
All five Valley starters scored in double figures. Kyle Spencer led the way with 17, including three 3-pointers, Tony Baird scored 13, Wes Troy and Jared Hoyt had 12 apiece and Lynar Young 11. Jason Reitz led Piute with 17.
Valley will be making its first visit to the finals since 1982 when it lost to Dugway. The Buffaloes won the 1A crown in 1981.
Duchesne 91, Rich 78
Brandon Rowley scored as many points as the Rebels did in the first half as the Eagles raced out to a 43-21 lead. The lead got as high as 28 before Rich staged a late rally. Rowley finished with 32 points to lead all scorers, while Nate Pugmire led the Rebels with 19 points.
The Eagles will play Wendover at noon Saturday for 5th place.
Wendover 66, Int. Christian 62
The Wildcats moved into the 5th-place game with the overtime victory. Matt Kennedy led the scoring with 21 points and Chris Chandler added 15 for Wendover. Neil Smith led ICHS with 20, while Chris Hill and Jeremy Heiser scored 12 apiece. The Lions only had one free throw in the game and missed it.
Monticello 71, Panguitch 56
Lance Hatch led a balanced attack with 17 points as the Buckaroos moved into the consolation finals against Escalante. Others in double figures included Curtis Black with 15, Brad Bunker with 13 and Tanner Dowell with 11. Kenny Tebbs was tops for the Bobcats with 17 points.
Escalante 78, Bryce Valley 67
The Moquis broke away in the second half to stay alive one more day. Jason Griffin scored 17 and Gerald Roundy and Vard Coombs each had 13 for Escalante. David Shakespear scored 24 to lead Bryce Valley.