High school basketball: Brighton hangs on in overtime

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Brighton had a whole week to stew over a loss to Jordan that dropped it out of a first place tie in Region 4.

By the time Alta — the latest team perched atop the region — came into their home gym, the Bengals had grown eager to reclaim that top spot for themselves.

Some hot fourth-quarter shooting from Brighton guard Corbin Miller and a stiff defensive effort in overtime made such a goal obtainable.

Miller drained 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions and hit a pair of free throws to extend the game past the fourth quarter, and the Bengals then held the Hawks to a single field goal in overtime to claim a 71-65 victory on Friday night.

The win helped Brighton (11-3, 4-1) move a half-game ahead of Alta (11-4, 4-2) in the region standings and claim first place for itself once again. It was the perfect way to put last week's loss to the Beetdiggers in the rearview mirror for good.

"We knew we had to just dig down and learn from our mistakes," Miller said. "We had a whole week to practice and just got after it."

Miller, who finished with 26 points, really got after it in the fourth quarter.

The Bengals appeared to be in a secure position after the junior dribbled around two defenders and pulled up for a 3-pointer that gave his team a 44-38 lead with 1:25 left in the third. But Alta erased that deficit in rapid fashion.

When Jordan Brown stole the ball to open the fourth quarter and converted a three-point play, he touched off a 10-0 run for the Hawks. By the time Brown capped off the spurt with a layup, Alta had a 48-44 lead with 4:47 remaining in regulation.

That's when Miller answered the bell. He drilled one 3-pointer after another — knocking down three in a row — to put Brighton ahead 55-53 less than two minutes later.

"It was good to get those shots knocked down and just get into a rhythm," Miller said. "I got some open looks. My teammates made some great screens and I was able to come off them and get some (baskets)."

Bengals coach Lyndon Johnson credited Miller with making clutch shots at the right time. His field goals were the only ones Brighton managed the entire quarter. Miller, he said, saw the strategies the Hawks were using to deny him the ball and worked around it.