Weber pulls off first big upset of 5A tournament

WEST VALLEY CITY — Teams with losing records don't usually possess a lot of poise — it's why they lose so many games during the regular season. Weber obviously isn't your typical losing team.

After finishing fifth in Region 1 and hitting the playoffs with a 9-12 record, the Warriors pulled off the biggest upset of the opening day of the 5A state tournament Monday by knocking off Region 2 champion Alta 34-32.

They did it by playing their style and getting the job done down the stretch — something that's definitely been hit or miss this year.

"We've been in this position before. In Region 1 we've been back and fourth on both sides of this, and I think our region really prepared us for tonight," said Weber coach Chad Sims. "We've been on the other side plenty of times, (after all) we finished fifth in our league."

Weber played like a poised, veteran team down the stretch, particularly Carson Fuller. The senior guard knocked down the two go-ahead free throws with eight seconds remaining to put the Warriors in front.

Alta still had a good opportunity to tie or win the game, especially after advancing the ball up court and calling a timeout with five seconds remaining. Amazingly, though, the Hawks turned the ball over on the inbounds pass and Weber hung on to advance to the quarterfinals.

In addition to burying the winning free throws, Fuller hit a clutch 3-pointer with two minutes remaining to push Weber in front 32-30 after Alta's Nate Nielsen drained his own trey to give the Hawks the lead. After Alta's Javon Goodman responded with a layup to level the score at 32-32, Weber milked the clock the final 75 seconds to play for the winning shot — which turned out to be winning free throws by the team's best foul-shooter.

Weber guard Ryan Graves finished the game leading all scorers with 12 points, while Fuller chipped in with nine. Weber outrebounded Alta 29-23, which was another key statistic according to Sims.

"We had to rebound against them; they're so athletic and aggressive, and we thought if we could outrebound them we thought we had a chance," said Sims.

The officials allowed Weber to play its preferred aggressive style all game, a style that suits Alta just fine as well. The officials only called 18 fouls, with only 10 free throws being taken.

The first half was a game of runs by both teams. Weber came out hot, jumping out to a 13-2 lead after the first quarter, but Alta responded with an 18-7 second quarter to tie the score at 20-20 by halftime.

The Hawks had an opportunity to seize a bit of momentum early in the third quarter but missed three straight free throws, finishing the game 0-for-5 from the line.

E-mail: jedward@desnews.com