Hot-shooting Orem, Cusick down Rams in 1st round

OGDEN — With such a lopsided advantage in field-goal percentage, it's a wonder that Orem's win over the Highland Rams in the first round of the boys Class 4A basketball tournament wasn't by a larger margin.

In knocking off the No. 2 seed from Region 5 by a 60-55 margin, the Tigers hit 53 percent of their shots while the Rams made only 35 percent. Highland also took 18 shots from behind the 3-point line and made only two. The Tigers, third-place finishers in Region 7, made the same amount of treys with only seven attempts.

Orem coach Mike Conner said the difference in shooting — and the game — was playing a style that was more fitting to the Tigers than the Rams.

"It was kind of an ugly game at first, but our kids just kept finding a way to win," Conner said.

The Orem mentor also said a key factor was the game turned in by junior shooting guard Craig Cusick, who made 9-of-17 field goals and 10-of-15 foul shots to post a game-high 29 points. Cusick was especially effective in the third period when he scored eight points in an 12-4 run that gave the Tigers the lead for good. Cusick also scored 10 in the final period to hold off a late Highland charge.

"The key was we got the ball to our player. Craig is our player and we got the ball to him," Conner said.

The game was actually much tighter than the final score with the lead changing hands nine times and it was tied seven times. In the second period alone, the score switched hands on almost every possession.

Early on it appeared to be Highland's day when Travis Tucker hit a 3-pointer to give the Rams a 10-3 advantage. Thanks to three quick hoops from Tanner Lamb, however, the Tigers knotted the game 14-14 after one period. Lamb, after battling mononucleosis for almost a month, only returned to practice Friday and still scored 17 points.

"It's amazing that he's even playing," Conner said.

Orem led 25-24 at halftime after surviving a back-and-forth second period. Highland came out in the third with a 5-0 run to take a four-point lead. Jake Orchard, who poured in 27 for the Rams, was doing most of the damage by getting to the hoop and the foul line. He sank 13-of-17 foul shots.