From Deseret News archives:
High school boys basketball: Hawks make it interesting but beat Brighton
Alta managed to hold on for a 43-42 victory over the Bengals on Tuesday night despite missing three free throws in the final 42 seconds.
All three misses occurred on the front end of one-on-one situations. Nate Nielsen misfired from the line with 42.1 seconds left. Then Ammon Olsen followed with misses on two separate trips to the line with 23.9 seconds left and again with 5.2 remaining.
It could have spelled disaster but ended up being a footnote to a great victory that gave Alta sole possession of first place in Region 2.
"I told them Shaq has missed a lot of free throws for his team and won," Alta coach Jim Barker said. "Ultimately, we know free throws are important. But, as long as we win, we're not going to dwell on it."
Indeed, Brighton could not capitalize on the missed free throws.
Olsen tipped a pass and Jed DeLeeuw stole the ball after Nielsen's initial miss. Then, following Olsen's final miss, Moses Lotulelei was pressured into heaving up a half-court shot that fell well short as time expired.
That pressure applied by the Hawks mirrored what they saw from the Bengals at different times during the first half. Brighton did a good job of disrupting passing lanes and creating steals.
It helped them take an 11-8 lead after one quarter. Brighton extended its lead to 18-12 with 3:37 left before halftime after Sam Wunderli drove for a layup and Derek Newell followed with a 3-pointer nearly two minutes later.
Barker acknowledged the Bengals forced his team out of its normal rhythm initially.
"They make you play a different style," Barker said. "They're up in your face. They're pressuring you. And, really it takes a while to compose yourself and run your offense."
But Alta rallied to tie it up at 20-20 on Nielsen's 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left before halftime. The Hawks took control in the third quarter by coming up with one big shot after another.
Olsen tipped in a missed shot by DeLeeuw to put Alta up 24-22. Then, after Brighton scored eight points to take a 30-28 lead on a layup by Newell, Olsen put in back-to-back baskets to make it 32-30 at quarter's end for the Hawks.
The last basket came after the Hawks forced a turnover with 3.7 seconds left. Olsen threw in the inbound pass, got it back as he cut to the basket and laid the ball in.
"It's important to stay calm in a tight game because you never know what's going to happen," Olsen said. "You can't tense up. When you need shoot, you need to shoot."
Olsen put that idea into practice again midway through the fourth quarter.
Brighton finally seized some momentum when Xan Ricketts and Will Cannon converted consecutive three-point plays to put the Bengals up 38-34 with 5:13 left.
Still, the Hawks rallied and Olsen put them ahead for good when he drained a 3-pointer to make it 41-38 with 3:13 remaining in the game.
E-mail: jcoon@desnews.com
