6A Playoffs
Syracuse 48, Davis 42
No. 18 seed Syracuse pulled off a stunning 6A second round upset on Friday as it overcame a double-digit first half deficit to rally past No. 2 seed Davis for the unlikely victory. Brevin Hamblin led the way for the Titans scoring 10 points to go along with 11 rebounds. The Darts led 26-20 heading into the fourth quarter, but Syracuse used a 28-16 edge in the fourth to rally for the win. Syracuse finished the game 29 of 32 from the free throw line, with Kaden Erickson and Brock Williams combining to go 21 of 23 as they finished with 17 and 12 points respectively.
“Our team went into this game believing that we could win. We’d competed well in our two games with Davis and we’ve grown and matured a lot over the course of our season. Our players executed our game plan and they were extremely resilient. To win at Davis in front of a hostile crowd, speaks volumes about our young men. They compete and will not back down to any team.”
— Syracuse coach Mike Russell
Corner Canyon 75, Fremont 63
Max Toombs scored 25 points and Brody Kozlowski added 19 as No. 4 Corner Canyon overwhelmed No. 13 Fremont in the first half racing to a 37-14 halftime lead and putting it on cruise control the rest of the way for the 6A second round win.
“Great first half defense propelled us to a victory.”
— Corner Canyon coach Dan Lunt
Cyprus 85, Farmington 75
Cyprus jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter behind fire-and-ice play from Justus Jackson-Fobbs and Quentin Meza. Jackson-Fobbs finished with 18 points including a couple of monstrous dunks while Meza quietly found his way to 25 points. In the end, the Pirates found their first tournament victory since 2004.
“Gutty and tough win for these group of kids. They made big plays down the stretch and were tough defensively. Our goal was to go 1-0 tonight and just stay in attack mode, the boys did that. Credit to these kids.”
— Cyprus coach Tre Smith
Bingham 75, Weber 58
Top seed Bingham outscored Weber 21-10 in the second quarter to take a double-digit lead into the second half as it took care of business from there for the 6A second round win. Luke Leatherwood buried six 3-pointers as he finished with a team-high 22 points. Kam Dupaix added 17 points for the Miners.
“After a tight first quarter we hit a few outside shots in the second to extend the lead to 15 or so. Weber shot the ball really well and would not go away the entire second half. Luke Leatherwood had a great night from the perimeter and his teammates did a great job finding him. It’s a blast coaching this team because they are so unselfish and don’t care who the leading scorer is. We usually have a different guy step up every night and have five guys who could be our leading scorer any given night. We are very excited to go to work tomorrow and get ready for the next one up at the Huntsman Center.”
— Bingham coach Kyle Straatman
Westlake 58, Kearns 54
In the type of competitive game you’d expect in a No. 8-9 game, it was eighth-seeded Westlake that held on late for the 6A second round win. Dylan Jones had a big game for the home team as he scored 24 points on three 3-pointers.
“We withstood a great late game rally from Kearns to earn a hard fought home win. Gaige Wendel and Kaden Hoppins made big plays down the stretch to secure the win. Dylan Jones got us off to a great start with 16 points in the opening half.”
— Westlake coach Nate Carling
Skyridge 56, Copper Hills 55
In a tight game the entire way, No. 11 Skyridge made the plays necessary down the stretch to edge No. 6 Copper Hills for the 6A second round victory. Nick Holland led the way offensively with 18 points as the Falcons shot 50 percent from the field in the win. Skyridge led by seven late in the fourth quarter, but some missed free throws gave the Grizzlies life. They turned it over though with three seconds remaining with a chance to try and win it.
“I was really proud of our team holding on against a very well-coached Copper Hills team. Our captains Nick Holland, Colby Carter and Bryson Bailey were exceptional tonight.”
— Skyridge coach Jeff Gardner
Pleasant Grove 62, Mountain Ridge 49
The Vikings took down Mountain Ridge, utilizing a five point advantage in the fourth quarter to turn out a 62-49 victory. The dynamic duo of Isaac Garrett and McCaden Adams combined to score 37 points. Pleasant Grove will take on Skyridge in the quarterfinals, a team they edged out in two close games during the regular season.
“Mountain Ridge is a really solid team defensively and shoot really well from deep. We gave up too many open 3’s in the first half and came out of halftime focused on guarding that better. We didn’t give up any 3’s in the second half and they had to start fouling. Hitting our free throws down the stretch and taking care of the ball gave us the edge to get the win.”
— Pleasant Grove coach Randy McAllister
American Fork 67, West Jordan 48
No. 10 seed American Fork outscored No. 7 seed West Jordan in each of the first three quarter as it cruised to the 6A second round victory. Twelve difference players scored for the Cavemen who were led by Ashton Wallace’s 14 and then 12 more from Noah Moeaki.
“We were focused on getting defensive stops and we did that. We knew West Jordan was very good offensively and our focus was making them work for everything they got and controlling the boards.”
— American Fork coach Ryan Cuff
5A Playoffs
Olympus 75, Skyline 40
Olympus made 13 3-pointers, including seven by Dutch Dowdell, as the top-seeded Titans rolled past Skyline for the easy 5A second round win. Dowdell finished with 29 points with Jack Wistrcill adding 17 as Olympus rolled after jumping out to the 19-4 lead after the first quarter.
“We really played great defense tonight and shared the ball terrific on the offensive side. Never easy beating teams in your league three times and we had to do it both times this week with east and skyline. Very proud of my boys.”
— Olympus coach Matt Barnes
Salem Hills 65, Stansbury 52
Chase DeGraffenried and Ryker Richards put on a show in the 5A second round as DeGraffenried scored 26 and Richards 25 as they accounted for almost all of their team’s scoring as the eight-seeded SkyHawks jumped out early on No. 9 Stansbury on its way to the playoff win.
“We played connected for most of the night on the defensive end, got great contributions from our reserves and a huge scoring night from Ryker Richards and Chase DeGraffenried.”
— Salem Hills coach Blake Francom
Murray 82, Springville 75
Chudi Anosike scored 33 points and Jaxon Workman added 14 as Murrya pulled away from Springville in the second half for the 5A second round victory, and in the process spoiled a special night for Jake Nadauld who scored 50 points on seven 3-pointers in the loss for the Red Devils.
“Yeah, they have one guy go off and we’re trying different things and can’t do anything about it, but we have enough versatility that we can score and keep pace and get shots we want.”
— Murray coach Jason Workman
Timpview 63, Payson 52
James Oldroyd recorded 20 points and five rebounds, while Truman Burningham and Tano Foster combined to add 22 more as No. 14 seed Payson went on the road and beat Payson for the 5A second round win. The T-Birds jumped ahead early with a 14-3 edge in the first quarter, a lead it never relinquished.
“We knew our guys were going to have to play extremely tough in that environment. Payson does a great job attacking in transition so a huge key for us was transition defense. We did a great job taking care of the ball on offense getting back on defense without giving up too many easy baskets.”
— Timpview coach Izzy Ingle
Orem 71, Spanish Fork 47
Orem had five players score in double figures as the No. 2 seed Tigers cruised into the 5A quarterfinals with the lopsided victory over visiting Spanish Fork. Orem buried the Dons early as it jumped out to a 27-8 lead after the first quarter.
“We set the tone in the first quarter and played Tiger defense. We contest shots. Great balance on offense and a fun state game.”
— Orem coach Perry Wildeboer
Woods Cross 59, Box Elder 53
Jaxon Smith scored 24 points on three 3-pointers, including six points in overtime as Woods Cross pulled away from Box Elder in overtime to pull out the 5A second round victory. Jaxon Smith converted a four-point play with 24 seconds remaining which helped the Wildcats rally and send the game to overtime.
“It was a grind it out win for us. Made some big plays down the stretch including a huge 4 point play by Jaxon Smith to send the game to overtime.”
— Woods Cross coach Josh Margetts
Alta 78, Uintah 43
Leading by seven after the first quarter, No. 5 Alta outscored No. 21 Uintah 44-17 in the middle two quarters as it marched to the easy 5A second round victory. Jaxon Johnson and Collin Chow scored 14 points each and knocked down two 3-pointers each as the Hawks finished with 10 3-pointers.
“We really locked in defensively tonight. Dylan smith was huge in limiting Josh Speirs for the first three quarters. That’s not an easy task to guard him but our team stepped up to the challenge. Collin Crow sparked us off the bench in the second quarter scoring 11 points.”
— Alta coach Travis Ohrn
Bonneville 49, Maple Mountain 43
No. 4 Bonneville used a dominated third quarter to overcome a four-point deficit to upset-minded Maple Mountain as it pulled out the 5A second round win. Jake Williams and Joe Tesch combined to scored 21 points for the Lakers.
“This was our best defensive effort of the season against a very talented and well-coached Maple Mountain team. Credit our kids for continuing to battle through a tough first half where we turned it over a couple of times and missed some shots that we typically make. Our third quarter defense and offensive execution was our catalyst in the second half.”
— Bonneville coach Kyle Bullinger