Utah 4A Hoops: Boys Tournament Wraps Round One.
All the waiting, anticipation and eagerness for postseason basketball is now in the rearview as the tournament is officially underway.
Replacing the anticipation is pure adrenaline as teams fight to stay alive, as they fight to go the distance.
For the boy’s bracket, things got cooking with 8 games to open up round one.
For you RPI enthusiasts, the index went chalk with no seeding upsets in sight. If you were the higher seed you won.
That doesn’t mean there was a lack of competitive games as #11 Bear River barely held off #22 Hurricane, with a 58-55 final.
The Bears had Kyver Jensen record 20 points with Gehrig Marble carving out 17, both knocked down two deep balls a piece. Hurricane was paced by RJ Hurst with three makes beyond the arc and 19 total points.
The #23 Cedar Reds were a single point away from leaving #10 Mountain View with an upset before succumbing, 68-67.
It took a herculean effort from Bryce Mella, the only player in 4A to record more than 30 points, with a 32-point showing for the Bruins. Landon Kreitzer had 20 in the loss for Cedar.
#14 Mountain Crest and #19 Payson was a 7-point contest with the Mustangs winning 61-54.
Joshua Arnell paced the Mustangs with 21 points and 4 triples. Kamika Wesley recorded 19 for the Lions.
The other 5 games were double digit contest leaving little to the imagination.
The #13 Crimson Cliffs Mustangs handled the #20 Hillcrest Huskies after an intriguing first half turned ugly with a final of 72-54.
Steele Barben emerged for an incredible playoff showing with 18 points and 4 hits from downtown. Isaac Miller put up 15 points in the Huskies defeat.
#15 Desert Hills walloped #18 Jordan to the tune of 71-51.
The Thunder backcourt was feeling it between Eli Allred and Ben Chase who had 22 and 21 points apiece combining for 5 threes made. Jordan was led by Preston Cheney’s 16-point night.
Provo as the #9 seed handled business against #24 Park City with a 19-point win over the Miners.
5 Bulldogs in double digit figures with Trey Johnson leading the way for 17 points and 4 hits from deep. Duke Gordon had a game in the Park City loss with 23 points.
#16 Timpanogos outpaced #17 Sky View, 54-42.
Jack Johnson netted 15 for the Timberwolves, whereas Bryton Williams led the Bobcats with 17 points and three threes.
The #12 Pine View Panthers hung a 4A high of 75 points in route to dismantling #21 Uintah by 22 points.
Leading the charge to 75 was Griffen Shepherd who’s 24 points was more than enough. Dauson Gardiner accounted for nearly half of the Utes buckets with a 26-point outing.
Round #2 is set, and we welcome in the top dogs emerging from their bye for this Friday the 23rd at the home location of the higher seed.
It looks a little something like this:
#1 Layton Christian VS # 16 Timpanogos
#2 Dixie VS #15 Desert Hills
#3 Logan VS #14 Mountain Crest
#4 Green Canyon VS #13 Crimson Cliffs
#5 Ridgeline VS #12 Pine View
#6 Cottonwood VS #11 Bear River
#7 Snow Canyon VS #10 Mountain View
#8 Murray VS #9 Provo
Team with rest VS teams riding the high of momentum always make for intriguing battles.
Will we see any upsets in round 2?
Most likely.