SANDY — The Jordan Beetdiggers didn't put together a crisp or sharp wire-to-wire effort against Judge Memorial on Tuesday night.
But it says something positive about a team when it doesn't play its best and still comes out victorious. The Beetdiggers started fast, then overcome a few lapses to defeat the Bulldogs 61-57 at Jordan High.
"I thought we had a really good, energetic start," said Jordan coach Rob Geertsen. "That energy was there, and then I think we went through some lapses. We just kept plugging along. I thought we seemed a little bit off. Sometimes you have those types of nights."
Early on, it looked like Jordan was going to run Judge out of the Beetdiggers' gym as it jumped out to a 14-3 lead. Kevin Goldsmith got the Beetdiggers off to the hot start, and student body president Nate Monson was solid on both ends of the floor. The two players each scored 14 points to pace Jordan.
Monson had the additional task of trying to slow Judge's 6-foot-10 center and leading scorer Will Whitt. Whitt scored his season average of 15 points, but Monson helped get him in foul trouble and he missed large chunks of the game. Whitt fouled out with 5:38 left in the game.
"I just knew I had to come out and play hard against him," Monson said of the challenge of taking on Whitt. "He's very talented. I tried to play hard against him and not let his height intimidate me."
Geertsen said Monson's play was one of the differences in his team's win.
"I thought he did a good job of attacking," he said. "He's undersized a little bit, but that didn't stop him from attacking. He had some good layups, some good finishes in there."
Jordan's 14-3 lead was its biggest advantage of the game, as Judge scrapped its way back into it. The Bulldogs got within two points in the third quarter when Basil Vetas hit a 3-pointer.
Judge stayed in the game until early in the fourth, but a quick five-point spurt that included a basket by Taylor Loomis and a three-point play by Monson gave the Beetdiggers a 10-point lead and enough breathing room to pull out the win.
It took a team effort for Jordan to hold off Judge. Joe Mero had 11 points, and Alex Hart had eight points. Geertsen said Hart's play was an underrated aspect in the game, as he did several things that didn't show up in the box score like making hustle plays.
The Beetdiggers could use more offense from Hart — and Jordan High does know something about getting offense out of Hart, a record-setting quarterback in the fall. Geertsen said he threatened Hart with running 30 ladders if he didn't shoot the ball against Judge.
"He's a very selfless player," Geertsen said. "He just wants his teammates to succeed. I asked him to step up and make shots and he did tonight."
Vetas had 14 points for Judge, which plays Bountiful on Friday. Ben Cook had 12 points and Zach Myaer contributed 10.
Jordan is now off until Dec. 28 when it plays in Logan High's tournament.
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