3A boys high school basketball: Bear River gets on track in win over Juan Diego

WEST VALLEY CITY — One close call in the 3A state tournament was enough for the top-ranked Bear River Bears.

A day after sneaking through the quarterfinals, the Bears returned to their typical dominant form in a 57-34 stomping of Juan Diego in the 3A semifinals on Friday night. Bear River will now try to win its third state boys' basketball championship in school history tonight when it plays Logan in the title game.

The Bears entered the state tournament as heavy favorites to win the state title, but didn't look like a powerhouse in their win over Emery on Thursday. They made a quick statement against Juan Diego that they're just as good as they've been hyped throughout the year.

"We came out ready to play," said Bears guard Matt Weyland, who scored a game-high 18 points. "We didn't want it to be close. We wanted to get it over with."

Bear River gave up the first basket of the game less than 10 seconds into it, and then went on a dazzling 20-0 run. They held Juan Diego scoreless for a little more than seven minutes. Weyland scored six points during the run, while the Soaring Eagle made costly turnovers and missed open looks.

Bears coach Van Park said his team wanted to make a statement after its narrow six-point win over Emery.

"We definitely did," he said. "We felt like we needed to come out (Friday) and show people how we're capable of playing, and hopefully that would catapult us into (the championship game). Today was one of the best starts we've had as a team."

Bear River dominated Juan Diego with its defense. The Bears recorded a whopping 17 steals and forced 23 turnovers. Their defense led to easy baskets on offense against the Soaring Eagle, and their opportunistic methods are a big reason why the Bears are 22-1 on the season.

"Our defense was just stifling, as we emphasize," Park said.

Juan Diego got within nine points three times during the second quarter, but couldn't quite make up for its embarrassing start.

Any thoughts of the game being close were quickly erased by Bear River in the third quarter. A basket by Devin Mathews started an 18-1 run that began midway through the third and lasted until there were less than five minutes left in the game.

Weyland scored seven of his points during the run, including a 3-pointer that gave the Bears a 47-23 lead.

Weyland credited the Bears' defense, as well as another powerful dunk by Wade Bronson, for Bear River's two decisive runs against the Soaring Eagle. Bronson dunked on a follow of a teammate's miss, just prior to the team's 18-1 run.

"That always gets us pumped up," Weyland said. "When he dunks, it gets our crowd going."

Bronson scored 14 points for Bear River, while Isaac Ericksen had 11. Juan Diego was led by Tyler Bauman, who had 14 points.

E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com