High school basketball: Springville springs to rare 1-0 start

PAYSON — The Springville boys basketball team went on the road and battled to a win in its Region 7 opener on Tuesday.

The Red Devils outlasted Payson 67-58 with a strong second half and will have a few days to enjoy a rare 1-0 league record.

Springville hasn't had much luck in early league games in recent years — especially outside its own gym.

"I don't think we've been 1-0 in region since I've been the coach," said Red Devils coach Chris Kitchen. "There's not an easy game in this region. It's always tough."

Springville was led in scoring by Alex Mortensen. The senior guard had 29 points, including a good chunk from the free throw line. But most of the credit for the Red Devils' scoring lie with their defense.

For most of the second half Springville played high-pressure defense with a full-court press. That forced a lot of Payson turnovers leading to quick layups and fouls. The Lions stayed in the game with a few big runs but ultimately gave up too many easy points to keep pace.

"Pressure defense and key turnovers for easy buckets — I would say that was the difference in the game for us tonight," said Kitchen. "We came out at halftime and did a nice job going on a little run. Then I think the run that won it for us was right at the start of the fourth quarter. We had some key steals for layups and some easy buckets."

With the score tied at 13 after one quarter, Springville opened up the second quarter with an 8-0 and looked ready to blow the game open. Payson scored the next eight points of the game, however, and eventually took a four point lead into halftime after a three-pointer at the buzzer.

The Red Devils started to slow the Lions down in the third quarter and slowly pulled ahead heading into the final period.

With the score tied at 43, Springville scored nine straight points to take a 52-43 lead with 3:12 remaining. With under two minutes to play, back-to-back buckets by Sam Schreiner pushed the lead to 12 points and Payson couldn't get any closer than three possessions.

"In order to compete for region you have to win on the road," said Kitchen. Payson is always a dogfight. We needed to make sure we got a win over here."

Schreiner was the Devils' second leading scorer with 17 points. Freshman guard Clint Bateman led Payson with 16, while senior Jacob Tipton had 10.