OREM — Orem still has plenty of work to do to reach the 4A state semifinals, but approaching games as if the Tigers are already there paid dividends Tuesday with a 65-52 win over Region 7 foe Olympus.
The Tigers led off with a stingy defensive effort to build an early lead and keep the Titans at bay throughout. It was the type of approach preached by Orem coach Golden Holt, who has led his team to two state semifinal wins in the last three seasons.
"I told my guys that Olympus is the type of quality team we could very well see in a state semifinal game if we're fortunate enough to get there, so that's how we approached it," Holt said. "And I think you could see that in the way we defended coming out."
Orem's collective defensive effort was focused on shutting down Olympus' Jake Lindsey, who most consider one of the top players in the state. Olympus was held scoreless until the 2:22 mark, as the Tigers built an early 11-3 lead.
The second quarter provided much of the same with Orem building a big 25-9 lead into the half.
"Jake is so good at making his teammates better, so we were really focused on staying in front of him and making him earn his (points)," Holt said of Lindsey, who finished with just four first-half points. "He adjusted better to what we were doing in the second half and ended up with at least 20 points, but that's what great players do."
Indeed Lindsey did pick up his play in the second half, and finished with a team-high 20 points, but Olympus was unable to cut the lead to less than nine points as the Tigers walked away with a big region win.
Leading the way for Orem on offense was Will Clark, who finished with a game-high 22 points while hitting some key shots in the fourth quarter.
"He hit two big 3-pointers there for us when Olympus was looking to make a run at it," Holt said of Clark. "We went inside-out down the stretch, like we always try and do, so Will was open and did great in knocking down the shots he needed to."
Other key contributors for Orem on the offensive end were Hayden Young and Richard Harward, who finished with 19 and 13 points, respectively.
Olympus' Nate Fox added 14 points and Miles Keller 12.
With the win Orem improves to 5-1 in Region 7 play, good enough for first place, and 14-3 overall.
"We like where we're at, but we all know we need to get better," Holt said. "I think we made some good strides tonight and I really like the team we have this year. It's a bunch of thoroughbreds with how they work and you saw that tonight."
With the loss Olympus falls to 3-3 in Region 7 play and 13-4 overall.
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney