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Springville senior Chase Haslem drives to the basket during the 5A quarterfinal game against Alta at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Springville senior Nate Visentin drives to the basket during the 5A quarterfinal game against Alta at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Springville head coach Justin Snell welcomes a player to the bench during the 5A quarterfinal game against Alta at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Springville students cheer on their team during the 5A quarterfinal game against Alta at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Springville freshman Mason Hansen goes up for a shot during the 5A quarterfinal game against Alta at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Springville senior Chase Haslem drives to the basket during the 5A quarterfinal game against Alta at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Springville senior Hiatt Hullinger goes up for a shot during the 5A quarterfinal game against Alta at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Springville head coach Justin Snell watches his team during the 5A quarterfinal game against Alta at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Springville senior Nate Visentin (left) goes up for the ball during the 5A quarterfinal game against Alta at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Springville head coach directs his team during the 5A quarterfinal game against Alta at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

❮ ❯

OGDEN — After his team’s 59-46 5A boys state tournament quarterfinal loss to No. 4 Alta in the Dee Events Center, Springville coach Justin Snell paused outside the locker room, stat sheet in hand.

The numbers told him a story without a surprise ending.

“It shows we didn’t quite get what we were looking for,” Snell said.

The No. 12 seed Red Devils have made a living this season pounding the ball into big men Nate Visentin (6-foot-6) and Jamyn Sondrup (6-foot-9), but were facing one of the few teams in 5A that can match that size inside.

“We’re a very unique team,” Snell said. “I think you watch everybody who made state, and for the most part, they play the same way. And then there’s Springville. I like that. But it does require us to hit a couple of shots. It does require us to play good enough defense where the other team misses some tough, contested shots. We just didn’t quite have what we needed today.”

Springville led 12-11 after one quarter but Alta took the lead and slowly pulled away. The Hawks held a 31-26 lead at halftime and a 46-36 advantage after three. Freshman Mason Hansen dropped in a 3-pointer early in the fourth to cut the Hawks lead to nine, 48-39, but the Red Devils could get no closer.

Alta shot 56% from the field in the second half and its lead reached an apex of 18 points late in the fourth. Alta had a 12-2 advantage in points off turnovers and outscored Springville 10-0 in fast break points.

Jaxon Johnson paced the Hawks (22-4) with 16 points and eight rebounds. Dash Reiser came off the bench to score 13 points for the Hawks, who advanced to Friday’s semifinals.

Senior Chase Haslem scored 15 points in his final appearance in a Springville uniform, Hansen had 10 and Visentin, a senior, added nine points and 12 rebounds.

“We didn’t shoot well enough inside the paint and we traded points a little back and forth,” Snell said. “Then we missed a couple at the rim and they hit them on the other end. But I’m really proud of my guys. We weren’t even picked to win our region (which they did) and we won 19 games. It really could have gone any way this season. At the start of the season our goal was the semifinals. We thought we had the talent to make that run. But you still have to get a little lucky. We’ve had tons of close games where we were able to squeeze out a win. We had seniors accepting role and playing with their hearts.”

Box score

Springville (46)

Naduald 6, Gaslem 15, Hansen 10, Visentin 9, Sondrup 4, Deede 2. Totals 18 3-5 46.

Alta (59)

Johnson 16, Hinck 3, Doleac 10, A. Reiser 11, Goodfellow 6, D. Reiser 13. Totals 23 8-9 59.

Springville 12 14 10 10 — 46

Alta 11 20 15 13 — 59

3-pointers: Springville 7 (Haslem 3, Naduald 2, Hansen 2); Alta 5 (A. Reiser 2, Hinck, Johnson, D. Reiser).

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