5A high school basketball: Gardner's free throws send Darts into final

OGDEN — Davis High guard Blake Gardner isn't a scorer by any stretch of the imagination.

In fact, with three-tenths of a second remaining in Friday's 5A semifinal against Copper Hills at the Dee Events Center, Gardner hadn't scored a single point. You would've never known Gardner is a defensive specialist, especially as confidently as he stepped to the free throw line with a berth in the state championship on the line.

Despite hysterical screams from the Copper Hills' student section, Gardner calmly swished both free throws to punch the Darts' ticket into Saturday's 5A final with a 48-46 victory.

"He's done huge things for us, not just hitting those two free throws. He's an integral part of the success we've had all year long," said Davis coach Jay Welk, whose team advanced to the championship game for the first time since 2002.

Gardner's opportunity to be the hero was simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

After Davis' Tallon Burton tied the game at 46-46 by making 1-of-2 free throws with 38 seconds remaining, Copper Hills wisely opted to play for the last shot. Big man Steven Larson was smothered in the post, though, and his off-balance shot with five seconds remaining bounced harmlessly off the rim. The ball was quickly tipped out to Gardner, who had an unimpeded run to the other basket.

He crossed midcourt with under three seconds remaining and was hammered by two Copper Hills defenders as he put the ball up for a lay-up with three-tenths of a second remaining. The foul merely delayed Gardner's chance to be a hero.

"If that's the third-best team out of Region 3, then Region 3 is pretty dang good," said Welk. "We feel very, very fortunate."

Davis will now face Alta in the 5A championship at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

It was a heart-breaking loss for Copper Hills. Not only did the Grizzlies lead by as many as eight in the first half, they had chances to increase that lead in the final two minutes but came away empty on their final three possessions — including missing the front end of a 1-and-1 while leading 46-45 with 1:03 remaining.

The Darts capitalized by tying the game 20 seconds later, and got the big defensive stop when they needed it.

"It came down to defense again; it was a defensive play that led to the two free throws," said Welk.