High school basketball: Einfeldt leads Cedar to quarterfinals

CEDAR — Joel Einfeldt picked a heck of a time to go off for a career high.

The Cedar guard showed off why he's one of the best shooters in Utah finishing with a game-high 34 points in leading the Redmen to a 65-57 victory over Morgan in the first round of the 3A boys state tournament.

"He's a player that somebody is going to be lucky to have next year in their program, he's our leader, and his shot went down," said Cedar coach Craig Cardon. "We draw strength from that."

Some of Einfeldt's 34 points were flashy, such as his four 3-pointers, but most were simply a matter of poise. The senior knocked down 18-of-19 free throws including 14 of 15 in the fourth quarter to help Cedar advance to the 3A quarterfinals at the E Center next Thursday. The Redmen will face defending state champion Judge at 2:30 p.m.

Einfeldt believes he and his teammates are mentally more prepared for this years quarterfinals than they were in last year's playoff loss to Logan.

With a quality win over Morgan, the only team to beat No. 1 Bear River this season, it's easy to understand Einfeldt's optimism.

Cedar led for most of the game, but not by much as Morgan's Braden Saunders helped keep it close with 23 points. The Trojans actually led 28-26 at the half ending the second quarter on an 8-0 run.

"We lost focus a little bit in the first half. We felt comfortable though," said Einfeldt. "We've had a couple games during this season here where we were down in the first half and came back in the second half."

The lead changed hands several times early in the third quarter, but Cedar quickly pulled ahead for good on a 7-0 run highlighted by Kai Eldredge's four points and a 3-pointer by Einfeldt.

Cedar extended the lead to as many as 53-43 with 4:16 remaining in the game, but not surprisingly the lead wasn't secure.

"This is still the team that was down 18 against Bear River and came back to beat them," said Cardon. "They're a good team, we knew they had that spurt-ability."

Thanks to some unnecessary quick shots by Cedar, Morgan scored seven points in a span of 40 seconds whittling the deficit to 53-50. A quick Cedar turnover gave the Trojans the ball right back but they failed to capitalize on the possession and Einfeldt knocked down 11-of-12 free throws in the final two and a half minutes to seal the win.

"I like our chances against anybody, especially in this gym. We do a good job with our student section and our band is phenomenal," said Cardon.

E-mail: jedward@desnews.com