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Posted: 10:15 PM- SANDY - It might be a little premature to declare that the season was on the line for Alta, but the Hawks definitely found themselves in a must-win situation against Jordan.
A loss to the Beetdiggers meant the team would be saddled with a 0-2 start in region play. That scenario invited long-term residence in the Region 2 cellar for a team once considered a Class 5-A boys' basketball title contender.
Any fears that Alta might fall out of the region race before it ever got going were eased by an impressive defensive effort.
The Hawks allowed Jordan to score only 14 points in the final 12 minutes of the game, giving themselves a much-needed 54-42 victory Thursday night.
Tyson Koehler scored 14 points to lead Alta, while Dallin Cutler and Parker Walbeck each chipped in 10 apiece to help the Hawks snap a two-game losing streak.
After giving up an average of 70 points per game in consecutive losses to Bingham and Taylorsville, Koehler said that the team put greater emphasis on defense leading up to the game against the Beetdiggers.
"That's all we worked on pretty much this week," Koehler said. "We knew these guys were good shooters. They've got a lot of good shooters and we just focused on defending outside in. It worked out for us."
Jordan felt Alta's defensive pressure almost from the opening tip. The Hawks forced six turnovers in the first nine minutes alone. Alta defenders exhibited relentless energy in pursuing the ball - evidenced by the nine steals accumulated by the Hawks.
"Our guys were just really alert tonight," said Alta coach Tony Cannon. "Looking for the extra thing to do and help their teammates out."
While it was defense was tool the Hawks used to deliver the knockout blows, it was some blistering perimeter shooting that put the Beetdiggers on the ropes.
Alta shot 36.4 percent from three-point range in the first half, a major reason for its 33-20 halftime lead. Then, after Jordan rallied to within five on back-to-back jumpers from Erik Soderborg and Brigham Mero, the Hawks went long-range again to put the game out of reach.
Walbeck drained consecutive three-pointers in a 50-second span to put Alta up 39-30 with 3:01 left in the third quarter.
The junior guard's shots could not have been timed more perfectly. Up to that point, the Hawks had missed their first five shots of the half.
Being in a slump didn't concern the team. They knew it would end sooner rather than later.
"We weren't worried at all," Koehler said. "We have enough shooters. When we started working the ball around and being patient with it, we got some good shots that started falling down for us."
Cannon credited Jordan with making some effective halftime adjustments and liked how his team responded under pressure. None of his players, he thought, took ill-advised shots or grew impatient when things didn't come to Alta quickly on the offensive end.
"They were really unselfish tonight on the offensive end," Cannon said. "A lot of guys turned down some really good shots, so we could get better shots and that takes a lot of discipline."