High school basketball: Eagles overcome free-throw woes in overtime

SANDY — While trying to mount a rally late in the fourth quarter against Alta, Skyline earned a chance to make up ground in a hurry with repeated trips to the foul line. The Eagles didn't do much with those chances and missed several free throws in the final minutes. After forcing overtime, Skyline resolved to not put itself in that situation again.

"We just couldn't let those opportunities go by," Skyline senior guard Kevin Wagstaff said. "Those are free points. We needed them."

With Wagstaff leading the way, the Eagles didn't cost themselves at the line in overtime. The Eagles point guard hit 5-of-6 attempts, and the team drained 10-of-14 as a whole, to lift Skyline to a 55-52 overtime victory over the Hawks on Friday night.

Ryan Osterloh scored 19 points and Wagstaff added 13 to lead the Eagles. Nate Nielsen poured in 23 points to pace Alta. Missed free throws complicated Skyline's rally from a 10-point halftime deficit.

The Eagles rallied to within two when Osterloh drained a 3-pointer to make it 36-34 with 2:52 left in the third quarter. Jordan Brown answered with a 3-pointer and a fast-break layup off his own steal to make it 41-36 with 6:50 remaining in regulation.

After Brown's two big baskets, Skyline chipped away at the lead slowly — in part because the team missed six of its next nine free-throw attempts. But Wagstaff finally put away two big ones to tie it at 43-43 with 1:16 left and force overtime. From there, Skyline took a 45-43 lead on a layup from Davey Weixler and stayed ahead with Wagstaff and others hitting free throws. This was a crucial victory for Skyline as it tries to set itself up in favorable position going into the 5A tournament.

"This game really wasn't about Region 2," Eagles coach Derek Bunting said. "This was really about getting some momentum going into the tournament. Whatever seed we get, we're going to have to play a good team."

Both teams started out scorching the nets as Osterloh and Nielsen took turns trying to top each other. If one hit a 3-pointer, the other produced an answer at the other end of the court. Osterloh, who wore a protective boot because of a stress fracture before the game, drained his first four 3-pointers to put Skyline up 14-12.

The Hawks rallied when Nielsen really let loose in the second quarter. He hit a jumper to start a 12-0 run that put Alta ahead 32-21 less than two minutes before halftime. He also capped off the run with consecutive 3-pointers.

The Eagles created the conditions for that run by showing tentativeness on defense.

"We just weren't putting enough pressure on the ball and we weren't playing with enough aggression on defense," Bunting said. "We were a step away and giving them good looks." Skyline did a better job of limiting Nielsen during the second half and managed to hold Alta to a single field goal in the third quarter.

E-MAIL: jcoon@desnews.com