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The free throws weren't falling for Springville's Andrew Slack in the second half.

The senior center missed 5 of 6 attempts, including an airball that sailed wide right. In a nip-and-tuck game, it was hardly ideal to leave points at the line.

But when the Red Devils needed him most, Slack made his final four free throws and grabbed the game-ending rebound in a 44-43 victory against Skyline in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament Tuesday.

The airball "just came off my hand weird," said Slack, whose final rebound gave him a game-high 10, to go with 21 points. "The next shot, I just had to do what I normally do. I was confident. I know I'm a good free-throw shooter. ... Most of the time."

Springville (18-5) advanced to meet Woods Cross in a 1:20 p.m. quarterfinal Thursday at Weber State.

Slack had 12 points in the first half, but he seldom saw the ball in the third quarter. Skyline (11-13) swung momentum and took a 33-31 lead into the fourth quarter.

It was time for Springville to get back to what it does best — feed the 260-pounder in the paint.

"They guarded Andrew really well," Springville coach Justin Snell said. "When we got to the fourth quarter, I thought we finally found our flow. We were able to move and they had to help a little bit. So we were able to get it to Andrew or they were out of position on the rebound and he was able to bang inside and come up with it."

Slack scored 9 of Springville's final 10 points, but Skyline hung around and got a steal with 9 seconds left for a chance to win. The jumper went wide, Slack grabbed the rebound and heaved the ball down court to burn the final seconds.

The second half saw six lead changes and six ties. The biggest lead for either team was four points, and the grind-it-out pace suited the Red Devils.

"From a defensive standpoint, besides the third quarter, I thought we played it really, really well," Snell said. "It's kind of who we are. The goal is to keep them under 10 per quarter and make them grind with us." —

Springville 44, Skyline 43

R Andrew Slack records a double-double with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Red Devils.

• Michael Vorwaller has 12 points and eight rebounds for Skyline, which comes up empty on its final possession with a chance to win.