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West Jordan • West Jordan couldn't snuff Hunter's flame. The Jaguars seesawed with an eight-point lead, allowing the game to stay within spitting distance.

It nearly cost them when Hunter's Jake Haram was fouled with 0.3 seconds remaining, with his team trailing by two. West Jordan survived when Haram's free throw missed, preserving its 55-54 opening-night win Tuesday night.

"As frustrating as it was for us, you probably have to give them a little bit of credit, too," said West Jordan coach Scott Briggs on the less-than-comfortable finish. "They're a pretty hard guard for us. They've got some kids that are pretty athletic off the dribble, and they attack the glass pretty well."

Chalk it up to the first-game jitters, but neither team found their stroke from the field. Add in the combination of repeated fouls and turnovers, and the game never reached the pinnacle of flow.

West Jordan (1-0) established an early cushion in the second quarter on Bryan Banks' interior blooper before Jacob Lowery inflated the cushion to 20-13 shortly thereafter.

Lowery was the difference for the Jaguars. The senior leader continually delivered responsive buckets to counter momentum from Hunter (0-1) on the opposite end.

"We had to battle the whole game," Lowery said. "Last year we started out 0-1, and we thought we should have had that win. It's good to start the season 1-0 so we can start the season on a good note."

West Jordan led 27-22 at intermission after Hunter's Jaleel Holdford connected on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Holdford routinely split the defense off the dribble, leading to several free attempts from the charity stripe, short-range floaters and openings to facilitate to teammates hibernating on the perimeter.

Trailing 37-29, Jake Rollins completed an and-one after corralling his own miss before Holdford pick-pocketed West Jordan en route to his own three-point play in transition to cut the Wolverines' deficit to 37-35 in two possessions.

Hunter eventually captured its first lead since early in the first quarter, 41-39, on four consecutive freebies by Mckay Meidlinger in the fourth.

After both teams exchanged blows, West Jordan appeared to finally separate on a 6-0 run fueled by Lowery and sophomore Darian Nebeker, who showed glimpses of his potential in his first varsity game, for 52-47 advantage with 1:03 remaining in regulation.

"We think Darian has a pretty bright future," Briggs said. "First half, I thought he played well, [but was] a little deer in the headlights. He wasn't really aggressive, but I think he settled down and obviously made some shots."

Leading by four, West Jordan inexplicably allowed another old-fashioned three-point play before granting Hunter the gift of potentially pulling even with missed free throws, but Hunter squandered the opportunity when its own free throw clanked strong off the back rim.

"We just have to survive," Briggs said. "That's the bottom line, just survive."

Twitter: @trevorphibbs