WEST VALLEY CITY — Considering the harsh news the Alta Hawks basketball team is coming to grips with, Dustin Pimm's play Tuesday night was encouraging.
Pimm made 4-of-5 3-pointers in finishing with 12 points, two assists and three steals to help the Hawks knock off Wasatch, 3A's top-ranked team, 64-57 at the 4A/5A Pro-Look Challenge.
"I thought Dustin played well again," said Alta coach Dave Pimm, who is also Dustin's father. "But then again I'm his father. I'm biased."
Dustin has started every game this year, but all along he knew he would eventually be relegated to back-up point guard once Blake Boardman returned from a knee injury.
"We're about 90 percent sure (Boardman) won't be back," said Pimm following Tuesday's game. Boardman reinjured his knee a day after being cleared by doctors two weeks ago, but this time he's probably out for the year.
If that's indeed the case, the Hawks definitely will need Pimm to duplicate his outstanding shooting throughout the year if they want to repeat as 5A state champs.
It was Pimm's fourth 3-pointer that ultimately secured Alta the lead for good midway through the fourth quarter. Up until that point, the teams had battled back and forth throughout the game.
Trailing 50-48, Pimm knocked down the wide-open 3-pointer to put Alta up 51-50. Considering that Pimm's previous 3 was rejected into the first row by Wasatch's Darin Mahoney, he demonstrated tremendous confidence in draining the open look.
Wasatch, which led 45-41 after three quarters, watched the game slip away during the next minute as it turned the ball over on two straight possessions, while Alta scored on two consecutive possessions.
"We made some free throws and some very good decisions down the stretch," said Pimm.
The Wasps eventually did shave the Hawks' lead to 55-53 on an Austin Oldham three with three minutes left, but they somehow came up empty on their next five trips down the floor.
By that point Alta had extended its lead to 59-53, and sealed it by making 7-of-8 free throws in the final 65 seconds.
"We talked about getting momentum going into region play, and we did that," said Pimm.
For a while Tuesday, it looked like Wasatch was going to run Alta right out of the E Center. A jumper by Nick Chadwick late in the first quarter put Wasatch comfortably ahead, 17-8. Pimm responded with a 3-pointer that keyed Alta's 9-2 run to narrow the gap.
While Pimm hit some big shots, Brett Adams led Alta with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Tayler Alvey chipped in with 13 points and seven rebounds. Alta will take the remainder of the week off to prepare for its region opener with Bingham next Tuesday.
Wasatch's Josh Cottle led all scorers with 21 points, while Oldham and Darin Mahoney each chipped in with 12. The Wasps return to action next Tuesday when they host No. 5 Emery.
In other prep action:
NONREGION
LAYTON 60, MURRAY 56: The Lancers outscored the Spartans by eight in the third quarter in rallying for the victory at the Pro-Look Challenge. Kasey Craven led Layton with 18 points, while Nate Grondel, Bradon Godfrey and Jordan Green also scored in double figures. Murray's Jeff Rosander led all scorers with 19 points.
BRIGHTON 63, CLEARFIELD 51: Connor Nielsen tallied 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Derek Pearson hit three 3-pointers as No. 1 Brighton outlasted Clearfield in the Pro-Look Challenge.
WEST JORDAN 66, ROY 54: Jordan Jacobs drained four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points to lead the Jaguars to an easy victory over the Royals at the Pro-Look Challenge. West Jordan jumped out to a 36-17 halftime lead en route to the win. Zach King led Roy with 14 points.
HILLCREST 63, SPANISH FORK 58: Vince Hights, the leading scorer in 5A, poured in a game-high 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Huskies to a narrow victory over the Dons at the Pro-Look Challenge. Aaron Davies tallied 22 points in the loss for Spanish Fork.
LEHI 49, COPPER HILLS 37: The Pioneers opened the second half on an 11-0 run to open up a 22-point lead en route to the easy victory at the Pro-Look Challenge. Trevor Nerdin notched 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Lehi, while teammate Ben Walker chipped in with 10 points.
RIVERTON 58, SKY VIEW 27: Jason Ford poured in 20 points, while Joseph Darger chipped in with 12 as the Silverwolves rolled over the Bobcats at the Pro-Look Challenge. Riverton shot 55 percent compared to Sky View's 19 percent.
ALTA 64, WASATCH 57: The defending 5A champion Hawks outscored the defending 3A champion Wasps 23-12 in the fourth quarter in winning the Pro-Look Challenge match-up. Brett Adams led Alta with 20 points, while Wasatch's Josh Cottle scored a game-high 21 points.
TIMPANOGOS 54, FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA 48: Shawn Yeats hit a 3-pointer with less than 90 seconds to go to put Timpanogos up for good in its game with Fountain Valley, Calif, in the National Prep Classic in San Diego. Wes Snell scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves.
MOUNTAIN VIEW 76, OREGON CITY, ORE. 63: The Bruins outscored Oregon City 26-17 in the fourth quarter to lead undefeated Mountain View to a victory at the Engergy Classic in Gillette, Wyo. Mountain View's Nathan Allman led all scorers with 19 points.
RICHFIELD 72, HURRICANE 52: Richfield used a team effort to defeat Hurricane in a nonregion match-up. Tyler White was particularly impressive for the Wildcats, scoring 17 points and dishing out six assists.
BASIC 53, CANYON VIEW 37: Canyon View stumbled in its preseason matchup with Basic, Nev. in a nonregion game.
GRANTSVILLE 51, UINTAH 44: Andrew Vera chipped in 13 points to lead Grantsville to a hard-fought victory over a tough Uintah squad.
JUDGE MEMORIAL 60, BEN LOMOND 51: The Bulldogs went 19-of-20 from the free-throw line in their nonregion win over Ben Lomand. Judge's Michael Giovacchini led all scorers with 27 points, while Eric Bartelson led Ben Lomand with 19.
MILLARD 49, SAN JUAN 48: A three-pointer by Jacob Ellsworth at the buzzer lifted Millard to a nonregion win over San Juan. Clay Cooper led the Broncos with 18 points.
RANIER BEACH, WASH. 56, TIMPVIEW 45: Timpview ran into an overwhelming opponent in Ranier Beach, Wash. in the Slam Dunk at the Beach tournament in Delaware. Ranier Beach, ranked eighth nationally according to the USA Today, never trailed after jumping out to a six-point first quarter lead. Chris Miles led Timpview with 14 points in the loss.
JUAN DIEGO 67, EISENHOWER, CALIF. 63: Chad Vaculin scored 28 of his 39 points in the second half to lead Juan Diego to a win over Eisenhower High in the Torrey Pines National Prep Classic Tournament.
OREM 54, BINGHAM 51: After squandering a 15-point lead and falling behind by two late in the game, the Tigers hung on to edge the Miners in the Pro-Look Challenge. Orem's Craig Cusick led all scorers with 20 points, while Cody Marsh led Bingham with 17.
E-MAIL: jedward@desnews.com