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Salem Hills senior Ryker Richards gets a hug from head coach Blake Francom as he comes off the floor at the end of the 5A quarterfinal game against Olympus at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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A Salem Hills shooter has his 3-point attempt blocked during the 5A quarterfinal game against Olympus at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Salem Hills sophomore Chase DeGraffenried shoots a 3-pointer during the 5A quarterfinal game against Olympus at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Salem Hills junior Zakery Nelson goes up for a layup during the 5A quarterfinal game against Olympus at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Salem Hills senior Ryker Richards goes up for a shot during the 5A quarterfinal game against Olympus at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Orem's Nick Stoddard (14) and Dane Christensen look at official after a whistle during a 5A boys state basketball quarterfinal game against Woods Cross at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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Orem's Nick Clark (13) drives to the basket against Woods Cross in a 5A boys state basketball quarterfinal game at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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Orem senior Carter Walker goes up for a shot during the 5A quarterfinal game against Woods Cross at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Orem players look on from the bench during the 5A quarterfinal game against Woods Cross at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Orem's Nick Clark (right) looks to pass over defensive pressure from Jaxon Smith of Woods Cross during a 5A boys state basketball quarterfinal game at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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Orem coach Perry Wildeboer watches the action on the court against Woods Cross in a 5A boys state basketball quarterfinal game at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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The Orem student section reacts to a play during a 5A boys basketball quarterfinal game against Woods Cross at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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A lot of boys basketball teams have found themselves trailing Olympus by 19 points at some point during the 2021-22 season. There is a reason the Titans were 23-1 and the No. 1 seed coming into Monday’s 5A quarterfinal game against Salem Hills.

The Skyhawks were in that position early in the third quarter as Olympus hit a 3-pointer to start the second half to push its lead to 38-19.

But, unlike many other teams, Salem Hills refused to fold.

The Skyhawks came roaring back, cutting the Titan lead to just four points early in the final period.

But Olympus just proved to have too much power inside with senior forward Jack Wistrcill, who scored 15 second-half points to help the Titans recover and pull away to secure the 63-45 win.

“I expected nothing less from this team (than to see us battle back),” Salem Hills head coach Blake Francom said. “That’s who we are. We missed some assignments and you have to play great against a team like that. That’s how they made a couple of their runs. But we still held them to 63 points when they’ve averaged 75 this year. We had some good looks that just didn’t go for us. But I expected our guys to fight.”

The Skyhawks were led by 19 points from senior Ryker Richards, while sophomore Chase DeGraffenried added 11 points and junior Zakery Nelson had 10.

Wistrcill paced Olympus with 25 points.

Salem Hills also struggled to find the range in the spacious Huntsman Center, making just 4-of-20 3-pointers (compared to 6-of-16 for the Titans).

Francom said the seven seniors were tremendous for the Skyhawks this year.

“Some got more headlines than others but they were all vitally important,” he said. “They brought leadership and instilled the unselfish attitude we wanted. We are going to miss them a lot. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

He said this was a season that highlighted how resilient Salem Hills was.

“We started 1-5 but later had an 11-game winning streak and won region,” Francom said. “We also made it to the quarterfinals, which was a good step for us. I hope we are able to come back and build off of what we accomplished.”

Olympus moved on to face Bonneville in the 5A semifinals at the Huntsman Center on Wednesday.

No. 2 Orem loses to No. 7 Woods Cross

The Tigers came out hot but struggled defensively and couldn’t keep up with the Wildcats, losing 75-54 and seeing their season come to an end.

The Tigers hit a couple of quick 3-pointers to build an 8-2 advantage right out of the gate but then Woods Cross junior Mason Bendinger got hot, making eight of his 10 shots in the first half to help the Wildcats pull in front.

“No. 24 (Bendinger) put on a clinic,” Orem head coach Perry Wildeboer said. “No one we have seen this season was hitting all the midrange shots he hit. We have been able to guard at the rim because we are long but he was smooth. He was able to pull up and hit shots, even with a hand in his face. He was poised and ready to play.”

Orem trailed 33-30 at halftime and tied the game at 35 early in the third quarter, only to see Woods Cross go on a 25-8 run to take control of the game.

“We went through a stretch where they just hit shot after shot, one after another,” Wildeboer said. “It’s tough when you don’t usually see teams hitting like that. We weren’t able to step up and it built on itself. I have to tip my hat to Bendinger and Jaxon Smith. They were gamers.”

The Tigers were never able to find any answers and ended up on the short end of a lopsided score.

Orem was led by 12 points apiece from Dane Christensen and Ethen Stoddard, while Bendinger finished with 34 points for the Wildcats and Smith had 19.

Although the final half of play was disappointing, Wildeboer was proud of all his team was able to accomplish in the 2021-22 season.

“We won 22 games and accomplished a lot of really good things,” Wildeboer said. “There was a lot of growth from a team that won six games last year. We weren’t able to end atop the mountain like we wanted but it was still a good year. These things happen and you know you can be a victim.”

No. 2 Murray bounces No. 14 Timpview from quarterfinals

The driving lanes were closed.

The Timpview boys basketball team has made a living this season spreading out defenses and attacking the rim with its quick guards. That strategy was shut down by Murray’s shot blockers in Monday’s Class 5A quarterfinals on Monday at the Huntsman Center.

The No. 6 seed Spartans logged 12 blocks and ran away from No. 14 Timpview 64-44 on Monday, eliminating the Thunderbirds and finishing off a tough day at the office for Utah Valley teams. Both No. 2 seed Orem and No. 8 seed Salem Hills lost as well, also by double digits. There will be no Utah Valley representative in the 5A semifinals for the second time since the 6A class was created in 2017.

“We were getting the shots we wanted but they have some really good size and athleticism in the paint,” Timpview coach Israel Ingle said. “It makes it tough to score so you’ve got to knock down some threes to bring them out a little bit. We didn’t shoot extremely well from the outside so we couldn’t get them out of the paint.”

James Rust lofted a soft shot over the Murray shot blockers that bounced in to beat the first quarter buzzer and the Thunderbirds led 10-8 heading into the second quarter. Timpview led 12-10 when the Spartans began to control the pace and the paint.

Murray continually frustrated Timpview’s guards on their drives to the basket on the defensive end. Meanwhile, the Spartans made four 3-pointers and finished the second quarter on a 16-2 run, taking a 26-14 lead at halftime.

Murray finished with six blocks and the T-Birds made just 1 of 11 from the 3-point line, so the Spartan shot blockers didn’t have to stray too far from the key area.

The second half was more of the same. The closest Timpview could get was nine points, (28-19) when James Oldroyd made his only 3-pointer of the game early in the third period. Murray kept pulling away and led by as many as 21 points in advancing to the 5A semifinals on Wednesday against No. 7 Woods Cross.

Bowen Davies (6-foot-9) had six of Murray’s 12 blocks and Dai’Shaun Wilkerson-Buie (6-6) had five more. Chudi Anosike led the Spartans (20-7) with 21 points and Bowen added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Timpview (14-12) was a woeful 13 of 60 (21%) from the field and was just 5 of 30 (17%) from beyond the arc. Burningham was the only player in double figures with 11.

“I’m just super proud of our players,” Ingle said. “I love our guys. I think everybody in the state thought this was going to be a rebuilding year and that Timpview wasn’t going to be very good. Our guys battled and finished second in an extremely tough region. We had some huge wins and we have a lot to be proud of. They fought all year through adversity and some injuries. They kept coming together and being great teammates and they all believed until the very last second which is all you can ask.”