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Merit players celebrate after the 2A state first round game against UMACW in Lehi on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Merit sophomore Miles Petersen drives to the basket during the 2A state first round game against UMACW in Lehi on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Merit players celebrate after the 2A state first round game against UMACW in Lehi on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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UMACW sophomore Papataia Owda goes up for a shot during the 2A state first round game against Merit in Lehi on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Merit senior Allan Mendonca powers to the basket during the 2A state first round game against UMACW in Lehi on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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UMACW senior Andre Loya goes up for a shot during the 2A state first round game against Merit in Lehi on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

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Merit senior Harrison Petersen shoots a shot during the 2A state first round game against UMACW in Lehi on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

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UMACW senior Jaxon Moody watches his shot during the 2A state first round game against Merit in Lehi on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

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UMACW senior Alex Rosales shoots a 3-pointer during the 2A state first round game against Merit in Lehi on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

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It had been a dozen years since the Merit Prep boys basketball team had won a state playoff game — and it certainly looked like that drought was likely to continue.

The No. 19-seeded Knights went on the road to take on No. 14-seed Utah Military Academy at Camp Williams (UMACW) in Lehi in the first round of the 2A state tournament Tuesday night and immediately found themselves facing an uphill climb.

The Marauders used pressure defense to get some easy baskets and scored the first 10 points of the game.

But Merit showed its heart and determination, refusing to be intimidated by the early deficit.

The Knights worked their way back into the game and when they got their chance to seize control in the fourth quarter, they took advantage. Merit surged in front to upset UMACW, 72-62

“I’m super-excited with how we played,” Merit head coach Will Barnard said. “Our program has been down for a little bit, but these guys have responded and tried to set a new culture. Things were going wrong for us but they stepped up and overcame everything.”

Knight sophomore guard Miles Petersen said he felt like his team was stalled in the early going, so they just needed to get on track.

“It was really intense,” Petersen said. “I knew I had to turn it up because we weren’t doing anything. I had to start putting it up and we all had to compete.”

Merit actually rallied nicely early in the second quarter and cut the deficit to 20-19 — only to see UMACW force some turnovers and put together a surge of their own to lead 33-22 at halftime.

“Our biggest thing was that it wasn’t the time to change from what we’ve built and who we are,” Barnard said. “We needed to run our press break, run our offense and do the little things. Eventually that would help us catch up and the numbers would even out.”

The teams exchanged third quarter runs but the Marauders still had a 48-38 edge going into the fourth quarter.

That, however, was when Petersen really got hot.

The Knight sophomore hit a pair of 3-pointers to start the final frame, sparking Merit on an 11-0 that gave the visitors their first lead.

UMACW wasn’t done either and went on a 9-3 spurt to again go in front 57-52. Another Petersen trey and a couple of layups combined with two Marauder foul shots to tie the contest at 59-59 with 2:04 left.

At that point, it wasn’t that surprising to see who came up with the big shot for the Knights.

Merit worked the ball around and got it to Petersen on the wing, who calmly stepped and drained the shot from beyond the arc to give the Knights the lead for good.

“I was open, so I shot it,” Petersen said. “When it went in, it was like relief. I was like, we’re still in this. We can win.”

The final minutes belonged to Merit, who got a couple of more layups (one by Petersen) and made 5-of-6 from the free-throw line to secure the victory.

“We had some clutch performances,” Barnard said. “Miles (Petersen) stepped up and made some huge shots. Allan Mendonca started to really finish down low, while Michigan Draper — it’s like his 10th game and he’s handling the point guard against this pressure. It was just some clutch individual performances and they all did their part.”

Petersen said hearing the final horn sound and getting to celebrate was something special for a team that has been through some ups and downs in 2023-24.

“I love the feeling of being with my teammates,” he said. “Sometimes it’s been rough this year, but we’re all brothers. We’re all friends. We always hang out with each other. That’s what I love about this.”

Barnard said the win showed his young squad the value of their hard work.

“It really validates a lot of what they’ve sacrificed this year,” Barnard said. “We talked all week and said let’s make some history. Let’s do something you can remember. I think it’s a big deal for them.”

While UMACW (12-10) saw its 2023-24 season come to an end, Merit (9-114) advanced to the second round of the 2A state tournament and will play at No. 3-seed Enterprise on Saturday.

That game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.