Rich 66, Valley 54
When Rich and Valley faced off at Salt Lake Community College on Thursday, the result was one of those classic matchups where the score fails to capture the story of the game.
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The Rebels never trailed a quarter on their way to a 66-54 victory, but that fact belies the reality of what for three quarters was an incredibly competitive back-and-forth game.
The Rebels finished the first quarter winning by one point, they went into halftime with a two-point lead.
“Keep calm…I wasn’t surprised we had some nerves, but I thought we weren’t doing things to calm ourselves down, so that was the message. And sometimes you have to trust your guys and let the plays make themselves,” Rich coach Lex Cornia said of his message to his team at halftime of a gritty, competitive matchup.
One thing the box score accurately shows is Ridge Lundgren’s dominant performance. The senior who leads the Rebels in points per game dominated the offense with 35 points and five assists while hitting six of his 10 3-point attempts.
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Lundgren also excelled on defense, where he took on the task of guarding the Valley’s leading scorer, Amar’e House (16.7 points per game).
Lundgren and his teammates consistently made life difficult for House with smart, physical defense, limiting him to 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
“I’ve coached for 20 years, he’s the best leader I’ve ever coached. Without a doubt. Everyone watches his offense, he’s very smooth and very skilled, but I think his defense is where he really shines. We can ask him to guard his best player and then we can ask him to be our leading scorer. There aren’t many 18-year-olds that can measure up, especially every night,” Cornia said of Lundgren’s impact on his team this season.
Lundgren’s defense came up big in the fourth quarter on two key occasions.
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After Valley fought to cut into Rich’s lead, House stole the ball from Rich and broke away for what could have been a layup that would have cut the lead to six. However, right there running next to him was Lundgren, who made a great block to give possession back to Rich.
Two possessions later, Lundgren iced the game with a three-pointer from the corner with 1:18 left to put the Rebels up by 12.
“My mentality is always to get him thinking about it, get him out of his rhythm. It’s not always about stopping the play because the good offensive players will get their points. The goal is just to keep him out of his rhythm and make him a little uncomfortable,” Lundgren said of his mentality on defense guarding the other team’s best player.
Panguitch 48, Manila 31
When defending 1A champion Panguitch defeated Manila 48-31 on Thursday at Salt Lake Community College, it was a battle of opposing philosophies: Manila’s fast, aggressive offense against the Bobcats’ patient, methodical offensive approach.
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After an extremely competitive first quarter, it was clear that the key to the game would be defense, as the teams scored a combined 14 points in the first quarter. Disciplined play, smart timeouts, and well-executed double teams made it difficult for both teams to get going offensively.
The defensive struggle continued in the second half as Manila entered the locker room with a 21-19 lead on the defending state champions.
“We knew they were going to give in and focus on doubling our center (Trenton Virga), so we had to instruct our perimeter guys to make shots,” Panguitch coach Clint Barney said of his halftime adjustments.
The Bobcats responded to that coaching idea by doing just that.
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Senior Camden Englestead exploded in the half, hitting two quick 3-pointers and scoring eight points in the first three minutes of the second half to erase the halftime deficit and build a Panguitch lead.
Englestead’s strong shooting led Panguitch’s offense, which finished with 14 points and four three-pointers.
“They can’t be afraid to shoot the ball… They needed to make good shots and I thought Camden (Engelstead) came out and hit two or three 3-pointers in the fourth and played really well,” Barney said.
Another key player for the Bobcats was Trenton Virga. The 6-foot-7 senior led the Bobcats’ defense with seven rebounds and seven blocks, completely erasing the paint and limiting Manila to 10 points in the paint for the entire game.
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“What you saw today is what he’s done all year for us… having Trenton in the middle allows us to be more aggressive attacking shooters on the perimeter. He rebounds well and if he doesn’t block a shot, it always affects him,” Barney said of Virga’s impact on defense.
After a dominant third quarter in which they outscored Manila 17-2, Panguitch intensified their already patient offensive approach, using the entire shot clock on multiple possessions to erase as much time as possible, stifling any potential comeback attempt.
Manila’s leading scorers, Teague Goodman and Kale Chowning, put up a valiant effort, each scoring 12 points, with Chowning playing the entire game as the Mustangs fell short 48-31.