Alta celebrates during the fourth quarter of the quarterfinals against Brighton for 5A high school boys basketball at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Alta won the game 70-60.
Megan Nielsen, Deseret News
Alta 70, Brighton 60
It was a game of runs.
That was the feeling Alta head coach Travis Ohrn had after his team pulled away late, ultimately defeating Brighton 70-60 in the quarterfinals of the 5A state boys basketball tournament Saturday.
“Tough game,” Ohrn said. “Brighton plays so hard. They play very physical and stuck to their game plan. I’m just so proud of our guys for playing for the full 32 minutes.
“We always talk about how it’s a game of runs. It’s the state tournament and you never know so you just have to stick it out and stay the course. We executed down the stretch and made some big buckets.”
Alta had several players who put up big numbers and contributed heavily to the victory for the top seed in the tournament.
Carter Doleac led the way in scoring with 26 points to go along with four rebounds and two steals, while Jaxon Johnson also had a stellar game and filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, 12 rebounds, five steals, four blocks and three assists.
Although the Hawks pulled away, Brighton came out ready to go toe-to-toe with the powerhouse that is Alta.
Brighton shot lights out in the first half, shooting 56% overall from the field and 72% from the 3-point line. but Alta’s defense stepped up in a big way in the second half and held Brighton to just 35% shooting.
“That’s what we pride ourselves on, is the defense,” Ohrn said. “In the second half we just said that we had to go back to contesting shots, rebounding better and luckily they missed some shots in the second half and we capitalized.
“We are so long and athletic that if we play together as a team, we can really lock guys down and I’m just proud of our guys for the way they played.”
While Brighton may have seen its season end earlier than it was hoping, the Bengals had several players stand out and put together impressive performances.
Bradley Easton led Brighton in scoring by putting up 25 points, including seven 3s. Jaxon Soto and Nash Matheson also left their mark on the game with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Next up for Alta is a date with a familiar foe in Timpview, a team Ohrn is looking forward to and one he knows his guys will need to be well-prepared for.
“It’s going to be a great game,” Ohrn said. “(Coach) Izzy (Ingle) does a great job at Timpview and I have so much respect for him and his program.
“We’ve been on the big stage before going up against each other, so it’ll be fun to go out and compete. We just have to get our guys ready and do what we do.”
Timpview 55, Orem 54
Timpview’s Aisa Galea’I sunk a free throw late and pushed Timpview to the 55-54 victory over cross-town rival Orem in the quarterfinals of the boys 5A state tournament Saturday.
Timpview was led by Dean Rueckert and Will Openshaw, who scored 15 and 10 points, respectively. Rueckert also had four rebounds and three assists, while Openshaw grabbed five rebounds of his own.
In the losing effort, Orem had the scoring spread throughout the team, with Jax Allen, Asher Young and Chance Dastrup scoring 12 points apiece.
“It was a dogfight and we know that’s what everyone expects, even if it’s a game in July. We know them very well and it’s always a 1-point game or overtime game every time we play them, always a dogfight to the finish and it’s nice to come out on the right side this time,” said Timpview head coach Izzy Ingle.
It was a very even first quarter with both teams keeping the intensity high and trading buckets, with the score knotted at 11 at the end.
The second quarter was dominated by Orem, which started the frame on a 6-0 run and eventually took a double-digit lead into the half with a 31-21 score.
Timpview was able to turn things around in a big way in the third quarter, dominating on both ends of the floor.
The offense for Timpview caught fire quickly and was able to score 21 points in the quarter, while the defense held Orem to just 10 points in the frame.
The dominant quarter gave Timpview a slim 42-41 lead heading into the final frame. It was a defensive battle in the fourth quarter, and with the score tied at 54-54, Galea’i was fouled with two seconds left. He made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, securing the victory for Timpview.
“We were just calm and composed,” Ingle said. “These games are always about who can adapt the best. We had to adapt the game as it went on and we made some adjustments in the second half that really turned things around for us.”
While Orem dominated the paint by scoring 32 points to Timpview’s 18, Timpview held the advantage in points off turnovers 15-6.
Orem had a very tough go of it shooting wise early on, only shooting 30% in the first half, and then Timpview ended up converting over 50% of its field goal attempts.
Next for Timpview, it will meet a familiar opponent in Alta, a team it lost to in the championship last year. There is no doubt Timpview will be looking for revenge in hopes of continuing its tournament run.