This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ogden • Perhaps the scare Murray put into top-ranked Bountiful in Tuesday's first-round Class 4A boys' basketball game was a wake-up call. Maybe the defending champion Braves suffered from first-round jitters. Or it could have been that the Spartans were better than anybody thought.
Whatever ailed the Braves on Tuesday was quickly eliminated Thursday, as they took a dominant 67-51 victory over outmanned Spanish Fork.
"We came out with more of an aggressive mentality," said Bountiful guard Jake LaSalle, who led the Braves with 20 points. "Coach said that when you are in a dogfight, or street fight, you have to kick them first. Tonight, we were a little more relaxed, a little more comfortable. We were just letting it go."
Zac Seljaas, who followed up his last-second game-winning 3-pointer against Murray on Tuesday with a 17-point effort against the Dons, offered similar sentiments.
"We came out with a different mentality," he said. "On Tuesday, we kind of had the jitters. We were a little nervous. We came out [Thursday] knowing how it is, how the atmosphere is."
Veteran Bountiful coach Mike Maxwell, whose team gets a semifinal date with an Orem team it beat by one point for the title a year ago Friday night, said it was good to see his team back to normal.
"We had nerves of the tournament Tuesday," he said. "Tonight, we just came out and played like we know we could, like we played all year and what I expected. It was nice to get out, relax and enjoy. The kids played really hard to earn that win."
Maxwell said big man Jeff Pollard, who finished the game with 16 points and 14 rebounds, set the tone on the first play of the game when he swatted a backdoor layup attempt by the Dons.
"Pollard was anchoring that defense big-time," he said. They had to look around: 'Where is that big kid?' That makes a difference and sets a tone. The defense forces them to take jump shots, which means we are getting deep rebounds, which leads to fast breaks and layups. That starts first with defense."
Bountiful used a 14-4 third-quarter run to build a lead of 56-26, and, though Spanish Fork and leading scorer Hunter Schofield rallied a bit late in the game, the Braves were never in trouble.
Now comes an Orem team that no doubt will be ready for revenge in what promises to be a good semifinal between two of the better 4A teams.
Twitter: @tribtomwharton —
Bountiful 67, Spanish Fork 51
R Bountiful looks like a different team than the one that escaped a first-round upset bid by Murray. The Braves never trail in the game.
• Bountiful gets 20 points from Jake LaSalle, 17 from Zac Seljaas and 16 points and 14 rebounds from Jeff Pollard.
• Hunter Schofield scores 19 points for Spanish Fork, which finishes its season with a 13-12 mark.