Tooele had the lights turned out twice Tuesday. The first came courtesy of Mother Nature - heavy snowfall caused a power outage which delayed the start of its preseason game at Bountiful for 30 minutes - while the second "black out" was delivered by the defense-minded Braves, 87-40.
"They just kicked our butts from one end of the county to the other," said Tooele coach Clyde Ahlquist. "They sent us home with our tail between our legs."Indeed. The night belonged to the second-ranked Braves.
"The thing I liked is that we came out with defensive intensity," said Bountiful coach Mike Maxwell. "When you play that kind of defense, you are going to get some routs."
The Braves jumped out to a 20-4 advantage in the first quarter - thanks to a run of 14 unanswered points - to turn the lights out early.
Bountiful's lead swelled to 42-18 by halftime and 70-32 at the end of three quarters before the Braves took their biggest lead, at 85-37, late in the fourth period.
"It was all defense," said Maxwell. "They didn't get any good looks."
Thirteen players scored for Bountiful with James Cahoon leading all scorers with 17 points. Scott Pratt led the Buffaloes with 16.
Elsewhere in the state:
Timpview 61, Davis 58
At Davis, the Darts (2-4) came one step away from pulling off the upset over 4A's top-ranked Thunderbirds. With four seconds left, Davis hit a layup that would have put the Darts up 60-59, but the play was nullified because of a traveling violation. Timpview (6-0) then hit two free throws to seal the win.
The Thunderbirds had big performances from Trent Church, who scored 20 points, Dan Brooks, 17 points, and Nate Cooper, 13 points and 8 rebounds. Chad Bessinger had 18 points and 9 rebounds, and Kelby Miller added 17 points and 8 boards for Davis.
Viewmont 58, American Fork 44
At Viewmont, the fifth-ranked Vikings (5-0) continue to show signs of being a 5A powerhouse this season as they downed the Cavemen. Jeremy Jeppesen captained Viewmont's win with 22 points, including three treys.
Cottonwood 54, Hillcrest 50
At Cottonwood, Mike Chandler paced the Colts with 19 points as they downed the Huskies. Brian Matthews and Chad Keetch each chipped in 14 for Hillcrest.
Box Elder 60, Bonneville 59
At Box Elder, the Bees (5-1) just held on for the win in this see-saw battle as Bonneville (3-3) missed a last-second shot that could have clinched the victory. Casey Blacker scored 20 points for Box Elder, while Dan Stitzer added 15 for the Lakers.
Woods Cross 61, Spanish Fork 50
At Woods Cross, Wade Nielsen got the Wildcats off to a quick start with four three-pointers in the first quarter. For the game, Nielsen hit five treys for 25 points and Chris Young had nine points and 11 rebounds. Chris Jex led the Dons with a game-high 28 points.
Taylorsville 62, Olympus 53
At Taylorsville, Mark Michaelis scored 18 points and Jess Gustafson added 15 as the Warriors (5-1) held off the Titans (2-2).
Hunter 58, Orem 48
At Hunter, Cory Reiser, 16 points, and Dustin Pierce, 13, were among four Wolverines to reach double digits to help pull off the mild upset win. Ryan Bott scored 16 for the Tigers.
Wendover 102, West Desert 39
At Wendover, Lawson Sweat led the Wildcat onslaught with 22 points. Wendover, which improved to 4-0 in Region 14 play, held the Hawks to only one point in the third quarter.
Bingham 73, Fremont 63
At Fremont, Trevor Stauffer and Lance Barnes combined for 32 points to lead the Miners past the Silver Wolves. Corey Melaney added 17 for Fremont.
Emery 86, Springville 64
At Springville, James Kilpack scored 21 points and Justin Bradley had 19 for the Spartans in their win over the Red Devils. Jake Huff chipped in 15 for Springville.
East 72, Kearns 39
At Kearns, the Leopards jumped to an early lead as Kearns only managed seven points in the first quarter. John Hammer and Dan Stewart each scored 13 for East.
North Sanpete 67, Juab 58
At North Sanpete, the fifth-ranked Hawks improved to 5-2 thanks to a big fourth quarter as they outscored the Wasps 28-19. Daniel Kjar had 15 points to pace North Sanpete.
Brighton 44, West Jordan 35
At West Jordan, David Nielsen's 16 points helped muster up the victory for 5A's third-ranked Bengals (4-1) in this low-scoring affair. Brighton's defense only allowed the Jaguars 11 points in the first half and held all of West Jordan's scorers in single digits.
Pleasant Grove 84, Carbon 66
At Pleasant Grove, the Vikings (6-1) downed 3A's second-ranked Dinos (6-1) in a game that featured an offensive showdown between Carbon's Jeremy Jewkes and Pleasant Grove's Justin Wilkes. The two stars, who were pitted against each other defensively, each hit five three-pointers and scored 27 points.
Waterford 57, Mount Vernon 35
At Waterford, the Wolves (3-2, 1-2) played well on the defensive end, allowing Mount Vernon (1-7, 1-3) only 2 points in the third quarter. Justin Kesler had a big night with 17 points, eight rebounds and five steals.
Red Mesa (Ariz.) 75, Whitehorse 55
At Whitehorse, visiting Red Mesa proved to be too tough for the Whitehorse Raiders.
Union 68, South Summit 62
At South Summit, the Cougars clawed past the host Wildcats in a close matchup.