From Deseret News archives:
High school boys basketball: Skyline upsets top-ranked Jags
Not only was he being heckled by fans every time he touched the ball after his first quarter air ball, but he was also defending Mason Sawyer, the West Jordan point guard who lit him up in a 5A first round loss last year.
Making matters even more motivational, Skyline's coaches didn't want to give Wagstaff another chance to guard Sawyer but had no choice when top perimeter defender Zeke Egan broke two of his fingers last week.
The injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Wagstaff was dominant on both sides of the ball, scoring 15 points and defensively limiting Sawyer to just two as No. 5 Skyline pulled away for the 57-41 victory to improve to 6-0 on the season while handing West Jordan its first loss.
"We didn't want Wagstaff to guard him because Kevin struggles sometimes against quicker guys off the dribble. But I think Kevin took that challenge; he knew he wasn't the coaching staff's No. 1 choice to take Sawyer," said Skyline coach Derek Bunting.
In a game that was close throughout, Skyline pulled away down the stretch, capitalizing on West Jordan's atrocious 1-of-14 shooting in the fourth quarter.
"It's a significant step for our program. We have beat some top 10 teams at home, but we'd yet to beat a top 10 team on the road. We've talked about that a lot," said Bunting. "It takes experience, it takes toughness, all those things we pride ourselves on, but we'd yet to get over that hurdle until tonight."
Leading 40-39 early in the fourth quarter, the Eagles scored 13 straight to pull away and officially establish themselves as a contender in 5A. Ryan Osterloh led the way offensively for Skyline with 21 points, with Casey Taylor chipping in with 10.
Skyline finished the game making 17-of-40 field goals, while West Jordan missed its last 12 shots to finish 11 of 40.
Bunting's team came out with exactly the type of mentality he was hoping for in the first quarter, jumping out to a 17-10 lead. His players panicked though when West Jordan switched to a zone defense in the second quarter and the Jaguars pulled ahead for the 25-22 halftime lead.
"We all of the sudden became passive. We talked at halftime, if we're going down we've got to go down aggressively," said Bunting. "We've got to take the ball into the gaps off the dribble and just be aggressive with the ball."
That aggressive approach helped Skyline regain the lead in the third quarter, and it went ahead for good when Wagstaff buried back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the quarter.
For the Eagles, it doesn't get any easier this Friday with a visit to rival Olympus.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com
