High school boys basketball: Senior-laden Springville marches past Timpview to claim 5A state championship

SALT LAKE CITY — There wasn’t much drama in Saturday’s 5A state championship at the Huntsman Center, and that was just fine with Springville.

After rallying for an improbable win in the semifinals by erasing a late 10-point deficit, the Red Devils were more than happy, relieved in fact, to simply ice the game in the fourth quarter from the foul line as they pulled away late for the 66-53 victory over Timpview to claim their second state title in the past four years.

“We came off the crazy game against Woods Cross but the most important part is we kept our composure and we moved on and we just played our game, I think that’s what was key for us,” said Springville point guard Paul Terry, who had another terrific game in the state tournament with 12 points and eight assists.

Terry came up huge early in the fourth quarter as Springville put the game out of reach. With the Red Devils leading 47-41 after the third, they opened the fourth on an 8-2 run with Terry accounting for five of those points and Austin Mortensen the other three on a big 3-pointer.

Springville 66, Timpview 53

(Box Score)

Leading scorers

Springville: Zach Visentin, 16

Timpview: Jake Wahlin, 15

The closest Timpview cut the lead after that in the fourth was 59-51, but by then only 1:25 remained on the clock and Springville sealed it from the line, making 21 of 30.

Zach Visentin recorded 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Springville, and was named the Deseret News tournament MVP.

He was one of eight seniors on Springville’s team this year, and it’s those seniors that Snell said were so vital to the team’s continued success all year.

“How much they loved each other, that’s all they talked about, is ‘love you guys.’ That doesn’t happen. You have teams that are good teams and then they leave and that’s it. And that’s not this group. This group cherishes each other and it’s so good to be a part of,” said Snell.

Added Visentin, “This is such a special senior class, this is my family, this is my second family. All these guys are my brothers, I love every one of them.”

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Following a close first quarter in which Springville led 21-19 — with Tyler Biddison burying two 3s during the quarter — everything changed in the second quarter. Timpview missed all 10 of its shots in the second, making only two free throws, as Springville stretched its lead to 34-21 at the half.

Springville had a 19-9 edge in rebounding in the first half, and it finished with a 40-22 edge.

“We stopped penetration and we rebounded the ball,” said Snell about the keys in the second quarter. “We had four turnovers in that quarter where I thought we could’ve stretched it out more, but we really focused on wanting to take away penetration and making sure we held them to one shot, and that was the second quarter.”

By controlling the defensive boards, Springville ensured that Timpview couldn’t find its offensive rhythm at the rim. It finally started to get some shots to drop in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 47-41, but that was as close as it got.

Timpview finished the game shooting 31 percent, while Springville shot 43 percent.

Timpview’s underclassmen-dominated squad was led by Jake Wahlin, who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Coleman Ford chipped in with 12 points.

Cooper Riggs finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, one of three Springville players who scored in double figures.

Deseret News 5A boys all-tournament team

MVP — Zach Visentin, Springville

Paul Terry, Springville

Coleman Ford, Timpview

Jake Wahlin, Timpview

Collin Chandler, Farmington

Tyler Roberts, Woods Cross