1A boys high school basketball: Tigers crash the glass to advance

RICHFIELD — After building up a double-digit lead by playing outstanding defense midway through the second half of its opening-round 1A boys basketball playoff game against Monticello, Tabiona found itself trying to protect its advantage.

The Tigers' play down the stretch might not have been perfect — OK, it definitely was far from perfect — but they collectively did enough good things to hang onto their lead and win the game.

And now they're in the quarterfinals, courtesy of a 59-48 win over Region 19 champion Monticello Wednesday evening inside the Sevier Valley Center.

"That's exactly what I told them: We can do better down the stretch, but a win's a win at this point — whether it's ugly or not," said Tabiona coach Shay Price. "You take it, you try to learn from it and come out and try to do better tomorrow."

Tabiona will meet defending 1A champ Escalante in the quarterfinals Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday's crucial stretch arrived near the end of the third quarter and carried into the fourth. That's when Tabiona put the defensive clamps on Monticello and took permanent control of the game.

Tabiona didn't allow Monticello a field goal for nearly five minutes at the start of the fourth quarter, and the double-digit they established at that point proved to be enough.

What was the difference during that stretch?

"I just felt like we boxed out a little better," said Price. "In the first half, No. 32, (Joseph) Weatherford just killed us. We stressed that at halftime, and I felt like that was the key.

"We got a few rebounds, held them to one shot and were able to extend (the lead)."

Price heaped praise on Gerald Van Tassell, who held Monticello star Daniel Torres well below his season average.

"He's our defensive stopper," said Price. "We knew he was going to have to come through, and he did."

Offensively, the key word for Tabiona was "balance." Colton Roberts finished with 14 points, and Weston Christensen, Robbie Giles and Dane Rhoades each had 13.

"We know that we have to get three or four kids in double-figures to win, and they did that tonight," said Giles.

On the other hand, Monticello guard Connor Frost led all scorers with 19 points, and Weatherford and Duncan added 11 and 10, respectively, for Monticello.