Draper » Most teams do not recover from a two-point first quarter. Ugly, mistake-prone play is usually the recipe for a quick ouster in the playoffs, especially when you have more fouls and turnovers than points.

But teams will take wins however they arrive, and even though at times it was downright scary, Juan Diego did just enough on its home court to open the first round of the 3A playoffs with a 44-37 win against Richfield.

A forgettable first quarter for both teams mercifully came to an end with Richfield leading 7-2. It was the second straight game with a horrid start for Juan Diego. The Soaring Eagles posted a goose egg up in the first quarter of their regular season finale loss to Ben Lomond.

"This team is making me older," said Juan Diego head coach Sonny Tangaro. "Funny thing is this was a better first quarter than our last game."

Richfield took an 18-15 lead into the half, behind the dual six-point efforts by center Robert Torgerson and wingman Tyler Thomas, respectively. But the Wildcats, who were also struggling with fouls and turnovers, could not keep up the pace in the second half.

Juan Diego finally broke through in the third quarter, taking their first lead of the night on Jalin Ames' bucket and foul shot with two minutes left in the period. The six-foot-three power forward came off the bench and lit a spark for the Soaring Eagles, scoring five big points and blocking two Wildcat shots in the third quarter to get things rolling.

"When I come off the bench I try to go real hard as soon as I hit the court," Ames said. "Tonight I knew I needed to come up big because we weren't playing that well."

Juan Diego guard, Morgan Hesleph, who got to nearly every loose ball, energized the home crowd with a big steal and layup to close the quarter ahead 30-28.

In the fourth, Soaring Eagle leading scorer Ajay Pizza finally found his stroke. The 6-foot-4 senior hit a big three and followed that up with a floater on the baseline to extend the lead to 37-32 with four minutes left.

Desert Hills 74, ALA 49 » Brandon Simister poured in 18, Tyler Ott had 15 and Jon Bodnar chipped in 10 points to fuel Desert Hills' runaway win over American Leadership.

Emery 66, Ben Lomond 55 » Emery came out of the gate the quickest and that proved the difference in the Spartans' victory over Ben Lomond.

Cedar 52, Park City 49 » Cedar rallied from a three-point deficit at the half to stun Park City at home. Brandon Garrett had a game high 19 points for the Redmen, while Britton Buford led the Miners with 15 points.

Judge 71, Delta 42 » Judge Memorial had their win wrapped up at halftime against overmatched Delta. The Bulldogs took a 38-19 lead into the half en route to a rout.

Morgan 49, Juab 42 (OT) » Visiting Morgan showed the most poise in overtime, outscoring Juab 10-3 in extra time for the win. Braden Saunders scored 17 points and hit five three-pointers for Morgan.

Hurricane 69, Union 48 » Hurricane leaped out to a 30-15 halftime lead and never looked back in a win over Union.