Tyler Brimhall is an unbelievable scorer. I felt like he kind of willed us into that win, got us a little momentum, got us a lead in the fourth quarter when we were down nine. He’s what gave us the confidence and other guys followed suit. – Logan coach Logan Brown
HYRUM — There was a stretch during the third quarter of Wednesday’s Region 5 tilt that Logan looked lost offensively.
Leading scorer Tyler Brimhall was having a difficult time shaking the wave of defenders running at him, and nobody else could get anything going as Mountain Crest surged ahead nine behind a raucous home crowd. For a Logan team expected to contend for the region title, those aspirations were on the verge of withering away.
Brimhall made sure they didn’t.
The senior scored 13 of his team’s next 16 points, jolting Logan back in front, and from there the Grizzlies made the plays necessary to eke out the 50-48 overtime victory over Mountain Crest.
“Tyler Brimhall is an unbelievable scorer. I felt like he kind of willed us into that win, got us a little momentum, got us a lead in the fourth quarter when we were down nine. He’s what gave us the confidence and other guys followed suit,” said Logan coach Logan Brown.
Brimhall finished with 27 points, with 17 of them coming after Logan fell behind 30-21 midway through the third quarter.
Surprisingly, Brimhall didn’t score in overtime, but Mountain Crest’s defense sagged his way when he did shoot, which helped Rielly Griffiths, Brad Neuhaus and James Larsen all come up with clutch offensive rebounds in overtime.
The rebound putbacks by Griffiths and Neuhaus came early in overtime, but Larsen’s offensive rebound was the biggest of them all with 12.3 seconds left in overtime and the Grizzlies trailing 48-47. Larsen was fouled in the process, and he calmly sank both free throws, putting Logan back in front 49-48.
Mountain Crest sent the game into overtime as Jaxon Brenchley hit two free throws with six seconds left, tying the game 43-43. With the game on the line in overtime Brenchley again had the ball in his hands.
Logan had been keying on him defensively all game, and it double-teamed Brenchley immediately as he crossed midcourt. With nowhere to go he was forced to pass, but the Mustangs' offense broke down from there, resulting in a turnover with 2.5 seconds remaining.
The victory helped Logan improve to 3-2 in Region 5 after an 0-2 start, with Mountain Crest falling to 3-1 with its first region loss.
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Consistency over time is going to give us results. I have a great group of kids that understand that. We don’t hit the panic button, we’re going to just keep getting better day by day,” said Brown.
That composure was evident when things looked dodgy for Logan.
Leading 17-15 midway through the second quarter, the Grizzlies were outscored 17-6 over the next eight minutes and found themselves in a big hole down 32-23.
Brimhall helped flip the momentum with his scoring, while defensively Logan held Mountain Crest scoreless for the first 5:12 of the fourth quarter.
“We weathered the storm when it got a little bit tough. Mountain Crest is a really good team. I thought we were consistent when it mattered, made big shots when it mattered. Couldn’t be happier for my kids right now just getting back on track where we need to be,” said Brown.
Deseret News prep editor and Real Salt Lake beat writer.