They say the third time is a charm, but not even the fourth time turned out to be the magical one for the San Juan Broncos.
After losing to top-ranked Beaver twice during the regular season and again in the Region 13 tournament, San Juan could not solve the puzzle in its fourth attempt as it fell to the Beavers 58-48 in the semifinals of the 2A state championship Friday at the Dixie Center.Beaver withstood a barrage of 3-point shots by the Broncos in the fourth quarter and used some tough defense in the final minutes to advance to today's title contest. Beaver will play North Sevier in the final, which won its semifinal game against Millard.
"It's tough to beat a team four times, but it's great when you can do it," said a relieved Beaver head coach Calvin Albrecht. "Our defensive play was good throughout the game."
Senior Kevin Brown came up with some big blocks and scored six of his game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter. None were bigger though than his layin with just under two minutes remaining that gave the Beavers a 51-48 lead after the teams had been trading baskets for the previous five minutes.
San Juan had its chances to trim the lead, but turnovers and forced shots proved to be costly.
"We didn't get any good shots at the end and we didn't get a call," San Juan head coach Dennis Jones said. "We played them tough for three and a half quarters, but they hit some big shots down the stretch."
San Juan started the game hot, jumping out to a quick 10-4 lead. Taylor Black scored six of the points and the Broncos dominated the boards.
But the Beavers found their touch and closed the quarter on a 12-1 run that saw five different players score.
Beaver built its lead up to 23-13 early in the second quarter, only to see the Broncos fight back. Black's driving layup brought San Juan to within three, but Cody Gillins' putback at the buzzer gave the Beavers a 29-24 halftime edge.
San Juan tied the game at 31-31 midway through the third quarter on a six-foot jumper by Taylor Black, who led the Broncos with 11 points. But Brown put Beaver ahead to stay on the next possession with a rebound putback.
In other tournament action:
Winners' bracket
North Sevier 51, Millard 36
The Wolves pulled away from a 27-27 tie in the second half to defeat the Eagles and move on to the championship.
Consolation bracket
Manti 70, Morgan 61
Rich Anderson drained four 3-pointers en route to 30 points as the Templars outdistanced the Trojans. Blake Nelson paced Morgan with 21 points. Manti will play Juab for fifth place.
Juab 71, South Sevier 60
The Wasps broke open a tight game midway through the fourth quarter to defeat the Rams and advance to the consolation championship. J.C. Reed scored 20 points to lead the way for Juab.