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The first half couldn't have been any better for the Payson boys basketball team.
A halftime lead of 27-23 on their home court, even with the Lions' scoring leader only having nine of those points, Payson was optimistic.
Too bad there was another half to play.
Mountain View, ignited by a five-point scoring flurry in the last 30 seconds of the first half, shrunk the Lions' lead from nine to a more manageable four-point deficit for the second half.
A huge 3 by senior Cameron Scmidt and a finger-tip layup by senior Bruin Greg May to start the third quarter gave the Bruins (10-9, 4-6) their first lead of the game, and ignited a 19-7 run, ultimately earning them the 59-45 victory over Region 7 rival Lions.
The tough Payson defense worked ferociously early in the first half, not only intercepting the poor passing by the Bruins but also stripping the ball anytime it came near the Mountain View's big men.
Unfortunately for Payson (6-12, 4-5), they weren't able to translate the steals and turnovers into points and the tough defense from both teams negated any scoring done, leaving the first quarter tied at 10-all.
The Lions then jumped out to a sizeable lead in the second with whispers of running away with the game after a big 3-point shot from Payson's Chad Marvin pushed the lead to nine.
Still, the Bruins didn't give up.
"I'm really proud of these guys. We dug ourselves a hole, but thanks to the senior leadership we have on this team, we were able to come back and really take control," said Bruins head coach Jeff Gardner.
Tough defense was the name of the game for the Bruins, and no one's job was tougher than Bruin senior Tanner Young. Responsible for guarding Payson's scoring threat, Seth Lovell, who averages 20 ppg, Young answered his coach's defensive call to hold Lovell to three points in the first quarter, none in the third and 15 for the game.
"We wanted to stop them from being able to pass inside; we wanted to make it tough if it did get inside and that's what we did," Gardner said. "Tanner did a great job on him, and if we hold him to only 15 like we did, we win."
The third quarter could have easily been the best quarter played by the Bruins all season. Greg May picked up six of his 10 points in the spectacular run, including the layup that gave them the lead and helped them pull away. More impressive, however, was the lack of scoring from the Lions.
"We really wanted to make every touch difficult. No matter who touched it from our baseline to their basket, we wanted to make them work for every shot," May said. "Tanner (Young) did a really good job on Lovell, especially when he started denying him the ball."
Mountain View spent the fourth quarter defending its lead. The Bruin guards were able to drive and draw fouls to match any points the Lions could muster on their offensive possesions. Junior Jake Wanamaker, led the Mountain View squad with 14 points, shot 8-for-8 from the free throw line, with six of those coming in the final minutes to put the game away.
The Bruins as a team shot 20-for-28 from the line. |
