High school basketball: South Sevier gives Waterford 1st loss

MONROE — There was one certainty in the Tuesday night match-up between top-ranked South Sevier and second-place Waterford — one of the teams would lose its undefeated status.

After battling through a close first half, the South Sevier Rams were able to take a 66-48 win over Waterford's Ravens.

"They're the real deal," said South Sevier coach Scott Hunt. "They're a good team that's well coached."

Hunt said the game between Waterford and South Sevier was a chance to meet a team his players might otherwise not have seen until state tournament time.

Of particular interest was Waterford senior Neal Monson. The 6-foot-11 center proved he's a force with 23 points.

However, South Sevier's answer to Monson was found in shifting its defense, something the Rams did four times during the night.

"We found something that worked by the fourth quarter," Hunt said.

Another factor for the Rams was McKay Blackburn, who blocked several shots, pulled down key rebounds and totaled 10 points for the Rams.

"Whether he's scoring or not, McKay makes a big difference for us," Hunt said.

Orion Wilson led the Rams in scoring with 19 points. Dillon Bishoff added 17 points for South Sevier.

The game started with Monson laying in a pair of shots to take an early 4-2 edge.

Monson scored four times in the first period, along with a trey by teammate Taylor Samuelian and a pair of shots from the foul line by Alek Mika.

However, the Rams held onto a 14-13 edge at the end of the first period, with three buckets from Bishoff, as well as points from Blackburn and Jace Meacham.

The Ravens took the lead with an inside shot from Seth Monson, which South Sevier's Race Parsons answered with a 3-pointer.

Orion Wilson also nailed a trey to snap a 17-all tied. South Sevier was able to take the lead with 3-point shots from Bishoff and Brandon Winn. Wilson capped the half with a buzzer shot that gave the Rams a 39-29 edge.

The Ravens were able to pull within four points with 45 seconds to go in the third quarter, but Wilson drilled two shots from the foul line and weaved his way to the basket for another two points before the quarter expired.

Blackburn kept the Rams' jaunt alive with two more bucket, followed by another by Wilson, giving South Sevier a 14-point edge with approximately six minutes left on the game clock.

Waterford was unable to recover, even with points in the final minute by Mika, who totaled 11 points in the game.

Waterford is now setting at 3-1 so far this season. South Sevier is 7-0.