High school basketball: Provo burst out early, holds on to beat Timpview

PROVO — Typically, when Provo and Timpview meet on the basketball court the games are about as tight and exciting as prep hoops games get.

But Tuesday night's rivalry matchup for first place in Region 7 in Timpview's gym just never lived up to the billing. By outscoring the Thunderbirds 13-2 in the first quarter, the Bulldogs took control early and were never really threatened again in a 46-32 win.

"That 13-2 quarter really set the tone for us, and allowed us to control the tempo the rest of the game," Provo senior guard Kyle Collinsworth said...

Provo's defense, or Timpview's lack of offense — whichever way you want to look at it — was the difference. The T-Birds missed their first six shots and had six turnovers before finally making a basket five minutes into the game. Overall, they shot only 27 percent from the floor and made only 2-of-16 shots from 3-point range.

"We didn't seem too comfortable on the floor," Timpview coach Perry Wildeboer said. "We just didn't have the poise that I think we should have."

Provo coach Craig Dury said his team's defense had a lot to do with that...

"My team is starting to come around defensively," Dury said. "Our defense was solid and was right were it needs to be."

Offensively, the Bulldogs made 19-of-33 shots. Collinsworth, who took advantage of defensive mismatches all game, scored 19 points — all in the paint. Guard Keith Moore added 13 and forward Ryan Durrant added nine.

"The high-low was really working good. Originally I wasn't very open, but then I was able to get the ball in good position to score quite a few times," Collinsworth said.

For the most part, Collinsworth alone was more than the T-Birds could handle. However, every time the Bulldogs got a little stagnant, or Timpview made a move, Moore and Durrant came up with big baskets.

Behind three early buckets by Collinsworth the Bulldogs took a 10-2 lead, and stretched that to 13-2 on a 3-pointer by Andrew Finch.

A spinning layup by Collinsworth to open the second put the Bulldogs up by 13. However, Timpview's main push came next with a 7-0 run to cut the margin to six. Ryan Nash gave the T-Birds a lift off the bench with five quick points, and the run was capped off by a running bank shot by Christian Covey.

But the Bulldogs still took a 26-15 lead into halftime when Moore scored Provo's final seven points of the half, all on tough driving layups.

"He's very good at getting to the hole. He's one of the best I've seen in high school," Collinsworth said.

Dury added, "He just plays hard. He's just a hard-nosed tough kid offensively who goes to the hoop hard."