From Deseret News archives:
Fremont beats Alta at line
Silver Wolves knock down 17-of-20 charity tosses to hold off Hawks
The Silver Wolves' point guard made 9-of-10 free throws in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 18 points to lead Fremont to a difficult 58-48 victory over Alta in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state tournament Thursday.
"The thing about Alta, they come right at you," said Fremont coach Bernie Graziano. "You've got to make sure you're able to run what you want to run without getting out of your offense because they'd love to disrupt that."
As much as Alta's defense tried, it could never quite rattle Fremont's efficient offense. The Hawks had a chance late in the first half following a 6-0 run that put them in front 18-16. Fremont responded with the final eight points of the half to take a 24-18 lead into the locker room.
"I thought our kids answered the bell several times," said Graziano.
Without a doubt, Fremont was at its best in the fourth quarter, with Alta frantically trying to save its season.
After Alta's Greg Anderson cut Fremont's lead to 39-36 early in the fourth, the Silver Wolves finished the game by making 17-of-20 free throws. Ironically, two of those misses came on back-to-back free throws by Joel Hancock with 45 seconds remaining.
At the other end of the court, Alta's Blake Tillotson was fouled on a 3-point attempt, and his three foul shots cut Fremont's lead to 51-48 with 37.9 seconds left.
Beus responded with a pair of free throws, followed by four more by Ryan Sanchez as Alta refused to go down without a fight.
"I was proud of the players the way they never gave up," said Alta coach Tony Cannon. "That's what I've loved about them (all year), they never gave up."
What surprised Cannon more than anything was Fremont's interior defense. He thought the Hawks might be able to exploit their size advantage, but it never really worked out that way.
"We didn't execute as well as we needed to, and their defense deserves the credit," said Cannon.
"They played extremely good defense."
Alta really missed the outside shooting of freshman Taylor Brown, who missed his third straight game because of a concussion.
"He is just such a threat, and at 6-foot-4, that gives us options," said Cannon.
Brown's outside shooting might have helped soften Fremont's interior defense, but Cannon knows injuries are part of the game.
Fremont advances to face Skyline today at 7:40 p.m.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com
