LOGAN — There comes a point when a team having a surprising season has to get that win — the one that really puts it on the map.
In a season full of surprises, the Logan Grizzlies might have just gotten that win.
Seniors Jordan Child and Jalen Argyle combined for 44 points as the Grizzlies soundly beat Bear River 68-51 on Wednesday night to take a full two-game lead in the Region 11 race with a 4-0 mark and move to 15-2 overall.
Bear River, which entered the matchup second in the region standings, fell to third place behind Ridgeline with an overall record of 12-4.
Child led the Grizzlies with a game-high 25 points and Argyle netted 19, including five 3-pointers, as the duo kept a feisty and frenetic Bear defense guessing between the inside and outside attack.
“They adjust (to Jalen), and we get Jordan one-on-one in the paint,” Logan coach Mitch Argyle said. “We’ll take that all the time.”
Logan took the lead early with a 3-pointer from Jalen Argyle, and a 7-0 run got the Grizzlies out in front in the first quarter 10-4, a lead they never relinquished as they built up to a 17-9 lead by the end of the first.
Jalen Argyle and Child formed the two-headed monster the Grizzlies relied on to stay in control through the first half when Bear River began to chip away at their lead.
When the first half ended, Logan held onto a 35-28 lead, and the two seniors had narrowly outscored the Bears entirely with 29 points.
Coach Argyle attributed the Grizzlies control of the game to “being very fundamentally sound, looking for backdoor opportunities, just executing (our) stuff.”
“(Bear River’s) very physical … they’re as hard-working a team as any in the state,” he said.
Logan’s loose grip on the game became ironclad in the third quarter behind a dominant 19-4 run. Though initially paced by Child and Jalen Argyle, the Grizzlies impressively executed the latter part of it, a 12-0 run in fact, without either of them.
Bear River called emergency timeouts twice during the run, both in immediate response to 3-pointers from senior Nate De Morgan.
“Defensively, I thought that we really locked into what we were trying to do, especially in that third quarter,” Mitch Argyle said. “The boys played really well together, and they communicated and shut down the (bad) things.
“In the first half, we were fouling too much and putting them at the free throw line. Once we eliminated that, our defense took control.”
From there, it was cruise control for Logan as the Bears, not known for their shooting this season, didn’t have the guns to get back into it.
Bear River was led by senior Kyver Jensen, who hustled and bustled his way to 17 points, while senior Gehrig Marble added 10.
Those who follow basketball in Region 11 are familiar with the typical dominance from Sky View and Ridgeline most years. Sky View currently sits dead-last in region play, while prior to tonight’s game, Ridgeline was tied with Bear River for second place.
Logan’s season has been the biggest surprise of all, as the Grizzlies, who currently field an all-senior starting lineup (seven total on the roster) have definitely looked the part of the top dog in Cache Valley after going the last nine seasons without a region title.
“This is a great group of young men. They’re awesome students, they’re awesome people and they work their tails off,” coach Argyle said.
“A lot of times we’re not the biggest people in the room, but we work well together, and our togetherness is what’s making that happen, and it just keeps building and getting better.”
Logan gets even further tested with a road game against Ridgeline on Friday, while Bear River returns home to face Green Canyon.