Fremont, Alta happy with play

SANDY — It's not often both coaches walk off a basketball court pleased with their team's effort, but that's precisely what happened following Fremont's 59-53 victory over Alta Friday.

Fremont coach Bernie Graziano was pleased his top-ranked Silver Wolves were able to endure a sloppy performance and walk away with the victory.

Alta's Tony Cannon, coaching his first game in nearly two years after serving in Iraq, was particularly pleased with the Hawks' unwillingness to wilt even when they probably should've.

"Give Alta credit for playing well," said Graziano. "But give our kids credit, when things didn't go well, and it didn't, they still stepped it up."

Fremont's resiliency was tested after Alta went on a 9-0 to end the third quarter, cutting its lead to 33-27.

The veteran Wolves, who return all five starters from last year, didn't panic and scored on their first three possessions of the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 40-31. Shortly after, their lead ballooned to 48-36 after point guard Austin Beus scored on a pair of layups.

The game's final three minutes turned into a foul shooting clinic by Beus, who made 11-of-12 free throws.

"The pressure was there, but I liked it a little bit," said Beus.

Despite the double-digit deficit late in the game, Cannon's scrappy bunch clawed its way back and managed to cut the deficit to 55-50 with under a minute remaining.

"I really liked the way our players responded in the third quarter, and the way they didn't give up in the fourth quarter," said Cannon.

Perhaps most importantly, Cannon was pleased with the lessons his team learned from a seasoned Fremont team. Despite Alta's physical play in the first quarter, Fremont kept its poise and outscored Alta 14-2 in the second quarter.

The aggressive play wasn't so much a planned tactic, but rather a wake-up call in Alta's first game of the season.

"We don't have officials in practice, and sometimes players don't curtail themselves quite like officials do," said Cannon.

Thanks to his foul shooting, Beus finished with a game-high 18 points, while teammate Austin Raught chipped in with 14.

Blake Tillotson and Brian Cameron both scored a dozen for Alta.

Both teams next game will be against Denver East, Colo., in the Smith's Ragu Classic in the E Center. Alta plays the defending Colorado 5A state champs on Thursday, while Fremont faces them on Friday.

---

E-mail: jedward@desnews.com