BOUNTIFUL — The Bountiful Braves were in the midst of a tight game on their home court and a dismal second-half shooting drought. They needed a big play if they were going to win a playoff game on their home court.
Morgan Ellis did "what we need (him) to," according to Bountiful coach Mike Maxwell, and provided two big plays.
The Braves had just taken a three-point lead, on a putback by third-string center Mitch Allred, with about 3 minutes to go when Ellis — Bountiful's scrappy sparkplug off the bench — knocked the ball away from the Orem Tigers' Austin Tuttle. The Braves' Dillon Salazar picked up the loose ball while Ellis scurried to the 3-point line, got the ball back and buried a trey for a six-point lead and momentum en route to Bountiful's 49-44 win in the second round of the state 4A playoffs.
It was the first 3-pointer Bountiful made in the second half — after missing seven — and it couldn't have come at a better time.
"I was just thinking: Make a play for my team," Ellis said. "That kind of turned it around."
Tuttle, who had 13 points, answered with a jumper to get Orem within 44-40, but Bountiful's McKay LaSalle nailed another 3-ball to push the lead to 47-40. Orem scrapped its way back and had a chance to tie, but Sean Peterson's 3-point attempt rimmed out with 9.5 seconds remaining, and Bountiful held on.
Bountiful only shot 33 percent (8 of 24) in the second half after hitting half of its shots in the first half. But timely hustle plays made up for the cold spell as the Braves, No. 1 seed from Region 6, advance to play Mountain Crest on Thursday.
"We never really got a rhythm. But my third string center got a rebound and a putback right when we had to have it," Maxwell said. "We got steals in the fourth quarter right when we had to have them; that made a big, big difference."
The Braves used their trademark full-court pressure to set an early tone. In the first quarter, Orem's Rory Sagers was unable to inbound the ball under Bountiful's basket and drew a 5-second violation. Ellis then knocked down his first 3-pointer of the game to give Bountiful a 10-5 lead. The sequence was part of a 10-2 run by the Braves that gave them a 14-7 advantage after one quarter.
Orem played the Braves evenly in the second as the Tigers' Brayden Hill tallied nine points in the frame to keep his team within striking distance.
Bountiful got the lead back up to seven early in the third at 33-26, but Hill — who led all scorers with 15 points — answered with a field goal, and Bountiful went ice cold. Braves center Dan Prawitt picked up his third and fourth fouls midway through the period, and Peterson capped off an 8-0 run by driving across the lane and scoring to give Orem a 34-33 lead.
Salazar gave the Braves the lead and a little momentum back by hitting a jumper at the third-quarter buzzer to make it 37-36 Bountiful. Ellis and Nick Williams had 13 points apiece to lead the Braves.
e-mail: rtrishman@desnews.com