American Fork simply too much for Alta

ST. GEORGE — Pretty? No way. Efficient? Oh yeah. American Fork used a smothering defense and an efficient offense to dominate Alta 53-32 Tuesday night at the Dixie State Great 8 Tournament at Burns Arena.

Rick Shoff beat the Hawks repeatedly on back-cuts and Clayton Searle dominated the paint before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Shoff finished with 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting and Searle had 14 points and three blocked shots as the Cavemen improved to 2-3.

"We, as coaches, tried to get a little too cute with the offense early in the year, so we changed our focus," A.F. coach Doug Meacham said. "This game was all about defense and rebounding for us."

The Cavemen defense held Alta to just 21 percent shooting in the game (10-for-47) and allowed just one 3-pointer in 15 attempts.

"It was a very physical game because the officials allowed it to be that way," Meacham said. "That's fine. We had to adjust for that and so did Alta."

The game was never really a contest as American Fork started the game on a 12-2 run. The Cavemen didn't allow a field goal until two minutes into the second quarter and led 21-6 with three minutes left in the first half.

Searle had eight points in the first half, scoring from the low block, from 15-feet out and on the fast break.

Shoff did most of his damage in the second half as the Hawks forced American Fork to the free-throw line. Shoff scored 15 after the break and made all eight of his second-half free-throw attempts.

"We have real physical guards," Meacham said. "If we can get them comfortable and playing loose, they're a lot better. They earned their trips to the line."

American Fork's Brenan Davis had seven points and six assists in the game.

Alta, 1-3, was led by Brad Boardman's seven points. Tyler Quinney and Chase Hansen had six rebounds each for the Hawks, who play at 4:45 p.m. today in the consolation bracket.

The Cavemen play at 6:30 p.m. in the tourney semifinals.