Bountiful 67, Lone Peak 59
BOUNTIFUL — Bountiful coach Mike Maxwell likes his team. And why shouldn't he?
The Braves have height, bona fide scorers, depth and a solid point guard.
It took him only one game to use every one of his weapons in the Braves' 67-59 season-opening victory over Lone Peak Friday night.
Point guard Matt Blood scored a game-high 22 points, including 12-of-13 from the foul line, and Ben Murdock scored 17 as the Braves avenged a 1999 state tournament loss to the Knights.
"I think we're a pretty good team . . . We've got the things you have to have to be a good team," Maxwell said. "I wouldn't sugar-coat it to anybody. Yeah, we're good. Are we great? No, but we could be. The problem is 4A has a lot of good ones."
When Jeff Jensen, one of the Braves' leading scorers from a year ago, and junior Kelly Orchard, 6-foot-9, left the game less than two minutes in with fouls, Maxwell went to his bench and got four and five points, respectively, from Jere Ruffer and Tui Auva'a.
When Jensen finally got back in the game, he avoided foul trouble and finished with 11 points. Orchard, who eventually fouled out, finished with three points.
"I saw enough good things to be encouraged," Maxwell said. "We opened the floor up and went inside a few times and scored. The press was working and Blood was tougher than nails. He carried us in the first half when we were in all that foul trouble."
A 2-and-1 by Brant Olsen and consecutive 3-pointers by Auva'a and Murdock helped the Braves to a 16-11 first-quarter lead.
Midway through the second the Braves got back-to-back 3-pointers by Blood and Jensen to increase their lead to 24-15 with five minutes left.
The Knights, trailing 28-23, went on an 11-2 run over the last 2:28 of the half to take the lead at 32-30, but Murdock hit one of two foul shots and Blood buried another trey to regain the lead for the Braves (1-0) at 34-32 at the break.
Lone Peak tied the score on a Sam Burgess hoop early in the half, but that was as close as the Knights would get.
The Knights would be held without a basket over the next six minutes, though they did hit four foul shots. But the Braves outscored the Knights 12-4 over that period to open a 10-point lead at 48-38, and they led by 11 at 53-42 at the end of three quarters.
Lone Peak made things interesting in the last two and a half minutes as they trimmed the Braves' 14-point lead to four with just over a minute to go on a steal and layup by Chase Palmer. However, Blood went 4-for-4 in the last minute from the line to put the game on ice.
Palmer was a force inside for the Knights (0-1) with 18 points, and Burgess finished with 14.
"It's a win. It's at home. It's against Ryan (Cuff - Lone Peak's coach), an old assistant coach - I don't want him beating me," Maxwell said. "I've got the bragging rights for at least a month until we see each other in the tournament."
In other boys action:
NONREGION
TIMPVIEW 94, GILLETTE, WYO. 59: Matt Orme scored 18 points to lead the Thunderbirds over the Camels. Timpview avenged a loss to Gillette last season. The Camels won nine state 4A championships in the 90's.
CEDAR CITY 67, PAHRUMP 23: Cedar City's Christian Davis and combined for 27 points as the Redmen blasted Pahrump.
HILLCREST 59, KEARNS 49: Rick Brunson, after missing last year due to injury, scored a game-high 20 points as the Huskies evened their record to 2-2. Matt Thornton led Kearns with 11 points.
GREEN RIVER 78, WAYNE 32: Four Pirates scored in double-figures as Green River destroyed Wayne.
EMERY 63, CANYON VIEW 28: Steven Ewell poured in 21 points with the help of three 3-pointers and Jesse Nielson added 15 as the Spartans crushed Canyon View.
SALT LAKE LUTHERAN 56, TINTIC 29: Jason Dorris hit five three pointers and scored 17 points and Mark Diaz had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
SNOW CANYON 62, DELTA 51: Nick Hammer led the Warriors to victory with 19 points.
DUCHESNE 58, GRANTSVILLE 49: Cris Hoopes scored 19 points for the victorious Duchesne, while Andrew Goss sunk a game-high 23 points for the Cowboys.
MANILA 65, WEST DESERT 49: Robert Asay scored 30 points to lead Manila.
BONNEVILLE 55, CLEARFIELD 45: Brandon Scholly tallied 21 points and Jake Atwater added 11 as the Lakers picked up the victory.
PINE VIEW 75, GREEN VALLEY, NEV. 60: The Panthers erased an eight-point first quarter deficit in a a 15-point victory. Jeff Madsen led the Panthers with 20 points and Chris Clayton added 14. Mike Platt led the Gators with 17 points.
MORGAN 76, UNION 62: Morgan controlled the ball and shot well from the field. Aaron Ewing, with his 21 points, led the Trojans, who benefitted from 39 trips to the free-throw line.
LAYTON CHRISTIAN ACAD. 72, MERIDIAN 60: Junior guard Josh Percifield led Layton Christian with 21 points in the team's victory over Meridian.
GUNNISON 71, ROWLANDHALL 68: Gunnison cousins Jordan and Jake Hill combined for 17 points and Aaron Harward added 12 as the Bulldogs edged Rowland Hall.
NORTH SEVIER 58, ENTERPRISE 55: Talin Zimmer was the high scorer for the victorious North Summit, while Colin Jones and Chase Randall led the Wolves with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
BEN LOMOND 64, RICHFIELD 39: Terrence Washington scored 11 points grabbed six boards and had five steals as the Scots stomped the Wildcats.
BOX ELDER 57, LEHI 49: Brady Quayle and David Yates each totaled 13 points as the Bees picked up the road victory.
WEST 63, CARBON 55: William Taukuvea scored 25 points to pace the Panthers past the Dinos.
EAST 50, SP. FORK 49: James Norman buried a jumper with 11 seconds remaining as East squeaked by the Dons. Jordan Judkins led the Leopards with 11 points, which included a couple key free throws in the final minute.
LAYTON 82, WEBER 63: Brent Egan and Jason Deelstra scored 24 points each as the Lancers broke open a four-point third quarter lead with 29 points in the fourth. Egan buried six 3-points and Deelstra had four. Ty Sparrow led the Warriors with 19 points.
HURRICANE 55, WASATCH 37: Chad Hughes scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds and the Tigers remained unbeaten.
SAN JUAN 56, SOUTH SUMMIT 52: Farley Crofts led San Juan in their win over the Wildcats with 24 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
DIXIE 74, UINTAH 66: Kyle Shorr, Tom Whitehead and Adam Christensen each hit key three-pointers in the fourth quarter, and the Flyers made 11-of-11 free throws down the stretch in picking up the victory. Shorr led Dixie with 24 points.
GRANITE 65, HUNTER 50: Granite's Andy Pace and Herman Johnson combined for 41 points as the Farmers topped Hunter.
MOUNTAIN VIEW 57, DAVIS 40: Karl Riding scored 22 points as the Bruins dominated the Darts.
JUDGE MEMORIAL 66, SKYLINE 58: David Giovacchini scored 23 points to lead the Bulldogs past the Eagles. Judge fought back from an eight-point deficit at halftime.
OGDEN 60, ROY 40: Ogden's G.B. Burningham had 16 points and grabbed 14 boards as the Tigers blasted Roy.
RIVERTON 42, TIMPANOGOS 36: In a defensive back-and-forth game, Mitch Young played great in scoring 13 points and the Silverwolves remained undefeated at 3-0.
MTN. CREST 56, NORTHRIDGE 47: The Mustangs trailed 19-14 at halftime, but thanks to improved defense and three 3-pointers by Bill VanDyke, they were able to rally for the victory. VanDyke finished with 22 points while Michael Brown added 14.
LOGAN 67, PARK CITY 49: Jared Lowe led Logan with 20 points, but the Grizzlies weren't one-dimensional as Todd Nyman and Chad Fairbanks chipped in 14 and 15 points, respectively.
MURRAY 71, TAYLORSVILLE 68: Parker Thomas racked up 20 points, and Johnny Little and Dallas Courville each added 14 in the Spartans' victory. Casey Iverson led Taylorsville with 16 points.
JUAB 59, PAROWAN 42: Scot Howarth scored 14 points as the Wasps pulled away from the Rams in the fourth quarter.
JORDAN 45, COTTONWOOD 43: Junior guard Weston Bell led the Beetdiggers with 21 points, including six three-pointers, as they handed the Colts their first loss this season.
DUGWAY 60, WEST RIDGE 49: Cory Rose, Nathan Nelson and Chris Wall all scored in double figures in Dugway's victory.
TABIONA 54, PANGUITCH 52: Chase Rhodes and Riley Bagley combined for 37 points as Tabiona stayed unbeaten.
BEAVER 55, PIUTE 33: Matt Albrecht led the Beavers with 16 points, while his cousin Brett Albrecht added seven rebounds, six assists and four points.
BINGHAM 55, VIEWMONT 45: Bingham's Matt Brimhall, Isaac Holdaway and Shane Brown combined for 42 points as the Miners downed Viewmont.
JUAN DIEGO 38, MOUNT VERNON 31: Adam Jackman's 11 points paced Juan Diego to its first-ever win.
FREMONT 56, GRANGER 43: BYU-bound Jared Jensen poured in 14 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Silverwolves to the win.
VALLEY 61, MOAPA 46: Valley's Joe Cascone and Owen Hoyt combined for 29 points as the Buffaloes topped Moapa.
INT. CHRISTIAN 64, WENDOVER 58: Brewster Christiansen led Intermountain Christian with 16 points as the Lions downed Wendover. Teammates Michael Scharp and Tyler Assmus combined for 12 points in overtime.
VIRGIN VALLEY 57, BRYCE VALLEY 53: Bryce Valley's Cole Twitchell knocked down 27 points for the Mustangs, but Virgin Valley walked away with the win.
ESCALANTE 57, PAHRANAGAT VALLEY 50: Escalante's Nathan Lyman and and Terrance Mitchell combined for 39 points as the Moquis edged the Pirates.