4A boys high school basketball: Springville wins first playoff since 2000

WEST VALLEY CITY — Not every basketball win can be a thing of beauty.

But for the Springville Red Devils, who hadn't won a state playoff game for 10 years, Tuesday's 48-46 first-round victory over Snow Canyon was a sight to behold — even as ugly as the Red Devils played at times.

"Everybody's really pumped," Red Devils coach Chris Kitchen said following Springville's first playoff win since Chad Jacobsen and crew lost to Timpview in the 2000 state championship game.

Knowing his team's recent playoff history, Kitchen was worried his players would show up a little tense and edgy. They did, but still managed to survive thanks to a tough second half zone defense and clutch foul shooting down the stretch.

"It was an ugly game, but we'll take the win," Kitchen said.

Springville had 11 turnovers, shot only 29 percent from the floor and had only six assists. However, the Red Devils did hit 22-of-28 free throws, had 11 steals, seven blocked shots and 14 offensive rebounds. They also forced Snow Canyon into 14 turnovers and scored 18 points off of those turnovers.

"Whoever scouted us for the next game probably didn't see much because we don't know what we did," Kitchen said.

Snow Canyon led 11-7 after a rugged first quarter for both teams. But the Red Devils went up 13-11 early in the second on back-to-back baskets by Dan Foster. However, the Warriors still managed to scrape out a 19-17 lead at the half thanks to the outside shooting of Clark Anderson and Andrew Johnston.

The Warriors took a 24-18 lead early in the third on a running jumper by Zackary Rogers and a put-back hoop from Anderson. But the Red Devils passed Snow Canyon for a 28-27 lead on a 3-pointer by Luke Frampton and a baseline scoop from Alex Mortensen.

Snow Canyon regained the lead on buckets by Anderson and Johnston, before a 3-pointer by Springville's Raul Delgado at the buzzer sent the game into the fourth tied 33-33.

The Red Devils took control of the game on a 5-0 spurt early in the fourth that was started by a Mortensen steal and layup. Mortensen, the top scorer in 4A, was held scoreless in the first half but came back with 14 second-half points. He began the second half with three fouls, but Kitchen decided to put his star guard back on the court to start the second half and the gamble paid off.

"We didn't come up here to play a No. 1 (seed) team to have my stud shooter sit on the bench," he said.

While the Red Devils finally began to find a way to score, the Warriors sputtered — mainly because of Springville's alternating 1-3-1 and 2-3 zone. The Red Devils were in a man defense in the first half, but against the zone Snow Canyon managed only two baskets in the first seven minutes of the final frame. From there the Red Devils survived Snow Canyon's late flurry of threes by converting free throws.

"The boys kept their composure and kept their heads and were able to pull this thing out," Kitchen said.

The Red Devils were led in scoring by Foster's 15, Mortensen's 14 and Delgado's 11. The Warriors got 11 from Johnston, nine from Joseph Graham off the bench, and eight from Anderson.