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The Timpview boys basketball team celebrates a upset of previously undefeated Orem in a Region 8 basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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The Timpview boys basketball celebrates after upsetting previously undefeated Orem on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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Timpview's Etano Foster (3) celebrates with his teammates after making the game-winning basket against undefeated Orem on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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Orem's Nick Clark (13) scores the game-tying basket with 25 seconds left against Timpview in Region 8 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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The Orem student section watches as Timpview's McKay Simpson (in blue) drives to the basket on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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Orem's Nick Clark powers through a defender during a Region 8 boys basketball game against Timpview on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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Orem's Nick Clark (in white) passes the ball against Timpview during a Region 8 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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The Timpview student section reacts to a play during a Region 8 boys basketball game at Orem on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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Timpview's McKay Simpson (right) scores inside against Orem in a Region 8 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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Orem's Ethan Stoddard (14) scores a basket against Timpview during a Region 8 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

❮ ❯

Down one point to undefeated Orem with 2.9 seconds to play, Timpview found itself in familiar territory.

Last week the T-Birds couldn’t come up with last-second play to beat Lehi, but on Tuesday they found a way to win.

Etano Foster tipped in a missed shot that barely beat the buzzer, pushing Timpview past the Tigers 46-45 in front of a packed house at Orem Fieldhouse.

This is huge,” Foster said. “This was the No. 1 team in the state right here, man. We really believe we’re No. 1. We’re a good team, too. Everyone thinks Provo is our rival, but for our generation its Orem, all day. So that’s a big rivalry. I was so happy. It’s a dream come true to hit the game winner on your rivals court.”

Timpview took a 44-42 lead on a Truman Burningham 3-pointer with 3:10 to play and nursed that lead until the final 30 seconds. Orem’s Nick Clark converted a 3-point play with 25.4 seconds to play and the home team took a 45-44 lead.

The T-Birds nearly threw the ball away on their final possession but Andrew Keck smartly called a time out with 2.9 seconds to play before falling out of bounds. The play Timpview coach Israel Ingle drew up for the sideline out of bounds was for Keck to drive to the basket. His shot bounced hard off the backboard. Foster was in perfect position to tip the ball in, sending the T-Birds and its large road crowd into celebration mode.

“These players, they grow up playing against these guys right down the street from us,” Ingle said. “They’re undefeated and obviously a great team. So I mean, this is huge for our team. That’s what I love because we’ve had some injuries and we’ve had some tough things that we’ve kind of had to deal with. And we just kept saying ‘It’s gonna make us better. It’s gonna make us stronger.'”

The game was tight throughout. Timpview’s zone defense against a taller Orem team was effective, as was the T-Birds ability to spread the Tigers defense out to create driving lanes for Burningham, Keck, James Rust and James Oldroyd.

Timpview took a 23-22 halftime lead thanks to Koy Berge’s 3-pointer. The T-Birds led 35-32 entering the fourth quarter but Orem reeled off an 8-0 run, keyed by Clark finding 6-foot-7 Ethan Stoddard inside for a pair of baskets, and the Tigers took a 40-35 lead with 5:15 to play. Timpview’s defense created a couple of big turnovers and the T-Birds surged back to within one at 42-41, setting up the game’s final frenetic moments.

“We had the exact same situation against Lehi last week,” Ingle said. “We were down one with three seconds left and the ball on the side. We ran a play and it didn’t work so well. So we knew once we got in that situation again, if we were ever down one with three seconds left, this is what we would do. And we didn’t actually do that. We ran a play in a totally different way. This was just the kind of game that could go either way.”

Keck led a balanced scoring attack for the T-Birds with 10 points, with Oldroyd adding nine and Rust eight. Stoddard led the Tigers with 16 points and Clark scored 13.

Timpview (4-1, 7-8) will host Timpanogos on Friday in another Region 8 meeting while Orem (5-1, 16-1) will travel to Jordan.

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