1A high school basketball: Roundy brothers lead Bryce Valley

RICHFIELD — When people talk about Bryce Valley's state-championship winning team in the years to come, the names "Kace Roundy" and "Kam Roundy" will inevitably be mentioned frequently — and for good reason.

Bryce Valley's basketball team had struggled mightily until the Roundy brothers moved from Escalante, where they won two state championships, to Escalante's arch-rival, Bryce Valley, last fall.

But while Kace and Kam's performances on the court can't be overstated, what was arguably just as important was what those two guys did to lift everyone else around them.

The Roundys couldn't have won a state title without an outstanding supporting cast, and as the season wore along, their supporting cast simply grew stronger and stronger.

Tallan Chynoweth, Kaden Pollock, Korde Chynoweth, Colton Roberts and Eddie Dunham all improved drastically, and the things they did this winter were indispensible in Bryce Valley's improbable state-championship run.

"We didn't have the right mindset going into it, but with Kace and Kam Roundy, who had been to the state tournament twice, they helped us with our composure and our mindset," said Tallan Chynoweth. "That pushed us over the edge to us becoming the No. 1 team."

Perhaps the most succinct example of that improved composure and different mindset came during the fourth quarter of Bryce Valley's 53-48 upset win over Piute on Saturday.

After Kace Roundy, Bryce Valley's star player, fouled out early in the fourth quarter, all of the supporting players made brilliant plays around Kam Roundy to bring home Bryce Valley's first state title in school history.

"We came together," said Kam Roundy. "I told 'em, 'It's gonna take 32 minutes of the hardest basketball you've ever played. Ever since the start of the season, nobody thought we'd be here. But once I moved before the start of the season I said that I'd carry them to another state championship because that's what I do. I love to be here.

"It was big because these guys rose to the challenge and believed every minute of it."

e-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com