Mt. View 70, Jordan 59
OREM — Now might be a good time to remind Jordan coach Hal Hale and his players that the Beetdiggers were picked sixth in Region 3 by the coaches.
Sixth out of seven.
Coaches figured the only team Jordan could finish ahead of was Hillcrest.
That may make Friday's 70-59 loss to Mountain View a little easier to swallow.
"It's true, most people didn't think we'd finish too high, but we know if we play together as a team, we can compete with anyone," Hale said. "We're still in good position. We just need to make sure we capitalize on our games at home."
Despite the loss, the Beetdiggers are still 6-2 and are now in a three-way tie with Mountain View and Brighton for the Region 3 lead.
It's been an inspiring run in region play for Jordan, but Mountain View knocked the Beetdiggers down a notch when the Bruins broke the game open by outscoring Jordan 15-6 in the pivotal third quarter.
Mountain View began to pull away when the Bruins closed the half on an 8-0 run, sparked by four points from Justin Clegg that gave Mountain View a 34-27 halftime lead.
"Give them credit," Hale added. "Seth Scott is a huge talent and they have a lot of other guys who complement him well. They're athletic and they shoot well."
Mountain View shot 62 percent from the field in the first half.
Jordan tried to stay with the Bruins. Adam Sharp opened the third quarter with a three-pointer. Bryan Isaac hit another three with 5:22 left in the quarter that cut the Bruins' lead to 36-33, but Jordan went the rest of the quarter without a point.
That was all the boost Mountain View needed. The Bruins hurt the Beetdiggers from all angles. Scott had five points, Dan Henry four, while Clegg and Karl Riding each added a basket to open up a bulging 49-33 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
"We've been trying to work on putting teams away once we get the lead," said Mountain View coach Rob Cuff. "We've let teams creep back in it. But in the third quarter I thought we did a pretty good job not only nailing shots, but defensively as well."
Jordan battled back and actually cut the lead to 64-57 with a minute left in the game, after the Beetdiggers scored six points in six seconds thanks to a Mountain View foul and technical. Chris Broadhead sank four straight free throws and Sharp swished a jumper, but the Bruins then put the game away when Henry threw a full-court pass to Scott that turned into a layup. Henry then followed with a hoop of his own to seal the win.
Henry led the Bruins with 20 points and five assists. Scott finished with 17 to go along with eight rebounds. Landon Hansen scored just three points, but he led the team in assists with seven.
Sharp hit four three-pointers and led Jordan with 22. Isaac hit three treys and added 10 for the Beetdiggers.
The win avenged a loss at Jordan and gave Mountain View at least a split with every team in the region.
"We knew coming in that if we won we'd be in first and if we lost we could be in fourth, that was enough motivation for us," Cuff added.
Mtn. View (6-2) 14 20 15 21 - 70 Jordan (6-2) 16 11 6 26 - 59
Mtn. View Henry 20, Clegg 9, Hansen 3, Randall 3, S. Jackson 4, B. Jackson 5, Riding 8, Scott 17. Totals: 25 14-18, 70. Three-point shots: B. Jackson, Hansen, Randall, Clegg.
Jordan Sharp 22, Allen 6, Broadhead 4, Isaac 10, Gough 4, Matern 6, Lesh 6. Totals: 22 7-11, 59. Three-point shots: Sharp 4, Isaac 3, Allen.