OREM — A relentless and extraordinarily consistent effort lifted Orem past Brighton 71-51 on Friday and into the quarterfinal round of the 5A state playoffs.
Tate Mitchell led the way for the Tigers, tallying a game-high 23 points while heading his team’s effort, which involved taking an early lead and not letting up until the final buzzer sounded.
”It takes five wins to get a championship and we feel good with how we’re playing... It’s going to be tough, but I like how we’re playing.” — Orem coach Perry Wildeboer
”We came out and just played hard. We played hard and physical,” said Orem coach Perry Wildeboer. “When we get into it, we can be pretty good.”
Orem was into all of it throughout the game’s 32 minutes on Friday, eschewing the typical peaks and valleys incurred by most teams, even those who ultimately come out on top.
Powered by seven straight points scored by Mitchell, the Tigers put their mark on the game early and got off to an early 11-4 lead. A lot of the points scored came off of turnovers caused by a tenacious defensive effort, with Orem finishing off the first quarter up 16-9.
The course set by Orem continued into the second quarter, with Wildeboar’s team entering the half up 31-19.
Orem 71, Brighton 51
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19738347/tagt.jpg)
Leading scorers
Orem: Taft Mitchell, 23
Brighton: Lander Barton, 16
”We won the first quarter. We won the second quarter, and yeah, I liked the consistent effort we had tonight,” Wildeboar said. “It set a good tone for the game and fortunately we kept it going from there.”
Brighton didn’t seem out of it until the final stages of the third quarter, when Orem built a 50-33 lead with forward Collin Hegsted doing most of the scoring damage inside. Hegsted finished with 17 points, which included a big dunk midway through the fourth quarter. Aisake Toiaivao added 16 for the Tigers with Lander Barton leading the Bengals with his 16 points.
As for Mitchell, Friday wasn’t an unusual effort for the senior captain.
”He’s just really, really hard to guard,” Wildeboar said. “He’s steady and he can beat you in a lot of ways with how he shoots from the outside and how he takes it to the rim. I’m glad we don’t have to defend him.”
With the win, Orem moves on to the quarterfinal round, where it will take on Woods Cross with hopes of advancing even further.
”It takes five wins to get a championship and we feel good with how we’re playing,” Wildeboar said. “We won five games in a row in what’s a really tough region, so we just need to do it again against similar competition as we’ve had. It’s going to be tough, but I like how we’re playing.”