OGDEN — The Dixie Flyers had done everything right.
After a hotly contested first half, followed by a dominant third quarter, the Flyers led the Juan Diego Soaring Eagle by 11 points with only a minute and 34 seconds remaining in Friday night’s 4A semifinal, held at the Dee Events Center at Weber State University.
“I think that is just something that is basketball. Sometimes you make them and sometimes you miss them.” — Dixie coach Tyler Roberts
The Flyers were so close to the state title game they could almost touch it, and with it the potential of bringing the championship trophy back to St. George for the first time since 2016.
Then Juan Diego star Talon Valdes hit a 3-pointer.
At that point, there was no panic on the Dixie bench. They still led 49-41 and on the ensuing possession Ethan Bennett drained two free throws to put the Flyers back up by 10. Bennett then hit one of two additional free throws, putting his total at 18 points, a team best.
Everything seemed OK.
Then came another Valdes bomb, followed by a three-point play by Juan Diego guard Gabe Soto and then another Valdes 3-pointer, all sandwiched in the middle of four straight missed free throws by the Flyers. With seconds remaining, Juan Diego had the ball, trailing by just two with a chance to earn themselves a berth in the state title game.
To the relief of Flyer faithful everywhere, they didn’t as a Mateus Rohden attempt hit the left side of the rim and fell harmlessly to the court as time expired.
Despite their stunning collapse, Dixie had held on to defeat Juan Diego 52-50.
“That is why you play the game,” Dixie head coach Tyler Roberts said. “I don’t even know how many free throws we missed. That is not us either. It is crazy. That is basketball. We got the fouls we wanted and got the right guys to the free throw line. I think that is just something that is basketball. Sometimes you make them and sometimes you miss them.”
The final minutes of the game marred what had otherwise been a strong second-half performance by the Flyers. Juan Diego led 24-22 at the half, after Dixie “came out flat,” per Roberts.
“They did a good job of controlling the tempo,” he said.
Roberts was confident his team could take control of the game though, as they had been a strong second-half team all year long — great even.
“I knew they (Juan Diego) didn’t have great third quarters and I knew that we are a great second-half team, so I really put a lot of pressure on them to play their guts out, to play to the end,” he said.
Dixie 52, Juan Diego 50
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Leading scorers
Dixie: Ethan Bennett, 18
Juan Diego: Talon Valdes, 20
It paid off as the Flyers controlled the third period, outscoring the Soaring Eagle 15-4.
“I told them to leave it on the floor and if we lose we go home,” said Roberts. “They’ve worked way too hard this year to just roll over, so we just tried to buckle down on defense and get stops.”
Leading the way was Bennett, who picked up the slack left by Flyers’ star Isaac Finlinson, who was stymied nearly all night by the concerted efforts of the Soaring Eagle.
“He is one of those kids who probably puts more time in than anybody,” Roberts said of Bennett. “He and Isaac spend a lot of time, and it is outside of practice. He is a gym rat and he’ll go and work every morning before school. Ethan is one of those kids who seriously deserved it.”
“I told them to leave it on the floor and if we lose we go home. They’ve worked way too hard this year to just roll over, so we just tried to buckle down on defense and get stops.” — Dixie coach Tyler Roberts
Noah Lemke was effective as well, finishing with 15 points, and while Finlinson only scored 6, well off his season average of 17 points per game, he found a way to get involved, dishing out three assists.
The Flyers controlled the game throughout the fourth quarter, too, though Valdes finally broke through to score 15 of his game-high 20 points in the frame. That is until the final minute and half.
“That is basketball,” said Roberts. “That is why you play the game.”
And Dixie has one more remaining, in the state championship game against the defending champion Sky View Bobcats.
“It is the last game,” Roberts said. “You play your guts out. We’ll prepare, but the biggest thing is you have to match toughness. Our defense is considered the best in the state. We’ll find out tomorrow.”