3A boys high school basketball: Intriguing Bear River-Hurricane match possible in semis

The consensus among most people is that this week's 3A boys basketball state tournament is Bear River's to lose. The top-ranked Bears overwhelmed opponents all year with their athleticism and scoring balance, and now they're just three victories away from a state championship.

There's one team in particular that might be up to the spoiler challenge.

Hurricane's resume may not be overly impressive from an offensive standpoint with just one player averaging in double figures, and six of the seven other 3A quarterfinals averaging more points, but the Tigers bring a defensive toughness to the tournament that is unmatched.

Opponents only reached the 50s four times against Hurricane this season, with its 42.9 ppg scoring defense leading 3A. The Tigers are in the midst of a 15-game winning streak since starting the season 4-3, and they're coming off another impressive defensive performance in a 51-35 first-round win over Ben Lomond.

"That's kind of been the strength of all my teams. I believe strongly in the defense, and these guys really take a lot of pride in it," said Hurricane coach Gordon Dotson. "It's not easy to take defense seriously. It takes a lot of discipline to play defense night in and night out."

Will that defense be good enough against a Bear River team that averages 68.4 ppg?

The Region 9 champion Tigers hope to find out in the 3A semifinals on Friday, but first things first, both teams must take care of business in the quarterfinals.

The tournament gets underway this Thursday at the E Center at 9:30 a.m. with Bear River taking on Region 8 co-champion Emery, the second-highest scoring team in 3A at 65.4 ppg.

That game will be followed by Hurricane-Juan Diego at 11:10 a.m., Logan-Salem Hills at 12:50 p.m. and Judge-Cedar at 2:30 p.m.

All four match-ups are intriguing in their own right.

The opening game will likely feel like a track meet, with Bear River and Emery probably each scoring in the 70s, whereas the second game should be a grinder with the losing team unlikely to break 50 points. Hurricane has only surrendered 50-plus points twice since Christmas, while Juan Diego's defense was terrific in a 46-34 upset victory over Waterford last weekend.

The match-up is also a rematch of last November's 3A football state championship game won by Juan Diego.