Orem's Spencer Abney did it all in the Tigers' 56-53 Region 4 victory over Hillcrest Wednesday.
The junior scored a game-high 19 points - 17 in the second half; nailed the last two foul shots that gave the Tigers the three-point cushion, and blocked the potential game-tying 3-pointer. The only thing he didn't do was run through a brick wall. But he may have done that too if Orem coach Matt Logan would have asked."He played the best half of basketball I've ever seen him play," Logan said after seeing his club move to 1-1 in region play and 6-2 overall. "He was awesome."
Taking advantage of perhaps Hillcrest's over patience offensively, the Tigers forged to an early 11-2 lead on a 2-pointer and 3-pointer by Shawn Opunui.
The Tigers led 16-8 at the first quarter break, and led by Austin Berge's eight points in the second period, that included two treys, the Tigers comfortably led 28-19 at the break.
After Abney made it 37-24 midway through the third quarter, Nic Fitzgerald and sophomore Blake Hansen, who had 10 and 8 points respectively in Hillcrest's third quarter, pulled the Huskies within three at 42-39 at the end of three.
The Huskies tied the game at 45 and at 47 before taking the lead at 50-49 and again at 53-52, but Abney scored the last three points of the game to earn the victory.
"We told them at every timeout that we needed to get them one possession at a time. We've got to have good possessions to get back into the game, and we had some pretty goods runs," Margetts said.
Behind Abney's 19 points, Mike Johnston added nine points, while Dane Ishihara paced Hillcrest (1-1, 6-2) with 17 points, and Fitzgerald and Spencer Cottle had 13 and 12 points.
Elsewhere around the state:
CLASS 5A
Region 4
Alta 81, Timpanogos 71: James Anderson led the No. 3-ranked Hawks past the host Timberwolves with a game-high 27 points. Teammate Chris Handy added 24. Shawn Anderson topped Timpanogos with 15.
American Fork 56, Brighton 55 (2OT): Jake Shoff scored 22 points including a pair of game-winning free throws as the visiting Cavemen upset the second-ranked Bengals. Morgan Smith had 16 for Brighton.
Jordan 68, Mountain View 47: Josh Miller's 22 points paced the Beetdiggers to a lopsided victory over the visiting Bruins.
CLASS 4A
Region 5
Bear River 88, Sky View 75: Leon Butler and Chris Huber teamed for 50 points as the Bears bounced the Bobcats. Trevor Stokes led the visitors with 27.
Logan 58, Mountain Crest 53: Brandon Stephens netted 20 points in leading the Grizzlies to an upset of the fourth-ranked Mustangs. Tony Brown finished with a game-high 21 for visiting Mountain Crest.
Ogden 67, Box Elder 54: Nate Wilcox finished with 18 points and Riley King added 15 in leading the Tigers to a successful league opener. Nate Putnam had 15 for the visiting Bees.
CLASS 3A
Region 9
Dixie 65, Cedar City 49: Coty Bundy fired in 20 points as the visiting Flyers upset the fourth-ranked Redmen. Cedar City was without two contributors who missed the game because of the flu.
Pine View 72, Snow Canyon 55: Ben Lindquist erupted for 27 points as the top-ranked Panthers opened league play in impressive fashion.
CLASS 2A
Region 12
Morgan 69, South Summit 55: Ryan Randall and Nick Ordyna paced the fifth-ranked Trojans to a road win by combining for 32 points. Clint Rydalch led South Summit with 14.
North Summit 64, Rowland Hall 49: Devin Smith and Cory Jones scored 19 and 17 points, respectively, as the Braves roared past the Lions.
Region 13
North Sevier 60, Kanab 45: Chad Mickelsen scored 18 points as the top-ranked Wolves defeated the No. 3 Cowboys.
CLASS 1A
Region 14 West
Dugway 71, Tintic 37: Matt Middlebrooke was the center of attention with 23 points. Brad Wyatt chipped in 15 for the Mustangs.
Wendover 96, Shiloah Valley 52: Edgar Robles led 12 Wildcats in scoring with a game-high 21. Adam Casper led the visiting Soldiers with 19.
Nonregion
Manila 85, Green River, Wyo. 78: John Catron led the Utahns to victory with 23 points. Jason Antonino, Jason Jarvie and Kale Slaugh combined for 48 more.
Mount Vernon 79, East Carbon 59: Jeff Farrow's 24 points led all scorers as the visiting Patriots prevailed. Conor Jamison finished with 19 for the Vikings.
GIRLS' GAMES
Nonregion
Carbon JV 62, Duchesne 45: Ave Neria scored 13 points but the Eagles still fell at home to the JV Dinos.
Piute 59, Gunnison 50: Brianne Torgerson led the Thunderbirds past the visiting Bulldogs by finishing with a game-high 24 points.
Rich 48, Cokeville, Wyo. 36: Jessi Weston scored a game-high 17 points as the Rebels avenged a 23-point setback earlier this season.
Wasatch 76, Altamont 37: Tasha Widdison's 26 points helped the Wasps sting the Longhorns. Whitney Farnsworth led host Altamont with 20.