OREM — With 29 points and one very timely performance as a decoy, Skyler Halford led Timpanogos (1-4, 7-7) to a 61-59 win over host Mountain View (0-5, 1-15) in Region 4 boys basketball Friday.
Following a miss by Halford on a potential game-winning shot with two seconds left in the fourth quarter, the fight for the ensuing rebound ended with the ball being tipped out of bounds. No time remained on the clock, and with the two teams deadlocked at 59 points apiece, overtime appeared imminent.
But officials ruled that 0.5 seconds should be put back on the clock with the T-Wolves retaining possession. After a timeout, Timp faked running a play for Halford on the right wing. The Bruins took the bait by triple-teaming Halford, and the T-Wolves won the game when Nate Henshaw inbounded the ball to a wide-open Ryan Clarke underneath the basket for an uncontested layup.
"We told them during the timeout that (Mountain View) would be looking for Skyler," Timpanogos coach Clay Anderson said. "We ran that on purpose hoping that everyone would suck to him, and it worked out perfectly."
Late in the third quarter, the T-Wolves were clinging to a two-point lead when Halford temporarily took over the game by scoring eight consecutive points on a layup and two 3-pointers from the top of the arc to put Timpanogos ahead 44-34.
Led by center Holden Jasper and guard Taylor Russell, the Bruins fought back in the fourth quarter. Russell connected on a long 3-pointer from the left wing to pull Mountain View to within 55-53, and seconds later Jasper sank a pair of free throws to tie the score.
With two minutes to go and the score 57-57, Halford drove the length of the court and sliced through the Bruin defense for a layup. Jasper answered right back with a turnaround jumper from the right baseline to make it 59-59.
Mountain View regained possession with the score still tied and 1:20 left on the clock, but junior point guard Greg May turned the ball over with 1:03 to go on an errant pass before the Bruins could get a shot off. Mountain View would never regain possession, as Timpanogos ran the clock all the way down to the final seconds before Halford missed the shot which resulted in the rebound that got tipped out of bounds with 0.5 seconds remaining. The Bruins led 27-26 at halftime.
Jasper led Mountain View with 18 points. Russell finished with 14 points.
Timp center Tyler Ashworth scored eight of his 12 points in the second half.