High school basketball: Hawks outlast Bulldogs in OT

PROVO — A horrible first quarter gave Alta every reason to panic. The Hawks already trailed Provo by 15 points and based on how efficiently the Bulldogs were picking them apart on both offense and defense, there were plenty of reasons to believe that deficit would spiral further out of control.

Alta did not flinch. The Hawks realized plenty of time remained to mount a comeback. More importantly, they knew they possessed the ability to do it.

"This whole season, we've started slow," Alta point guard Jordan Brown said. "But we know we're never out of the game."

Brown took it upon himself to rally the Hawks. He scored several baskets to fuel a crucial second-quarter run and then made back-to-back layups to help Alta hold off Provo in overtime for a 62-55 victory on Tuesday night.

The senior finished with 21 points to lead the Hawks. Senior forward Kyle Davis added 16 points and 10 rebounds to lift Alta (7-1) to its seventh consecutive victory.

Kyle Collinsworth scored 29 points, collected 10 rebounds, dished out four assists and had three steals to lead the Bulldogs (5-2), who lost in overtime for the second time this season.

Brown came up with big plays at key points throughout the game for the Hawks.

He first sprung into action after Provo sprinted out to a 21-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bulldogs shot 80 percent in the quarter and drove inside on the Hawks at will — with Collinsworth inflicting the bulk of the damage.

Brown hit a 3-pointer to jump start an 11-2 run that brought Alta to within 23-17 with 4:26 left before halftime. He scored four baskets in that stretch — capped off by a driving layup following a steal.

That game-saving spurt, Brown said, came about after the Hawks showed a renewed focus on being patient in their offensive sets.

"We were just forcing everything in the first quarter, so we wanted to be patient, work the ball around and get it in the right spot," Brown said.

The Hawks continued to chip away at the lead throughout the third quarter until they finally went ahead for the first time when Brown drained a jumper to make it 39-38 with 1:14 left in the quarter.