"It wasn't on my mind," said Yerkovich, the 43-year head coach of the Bulldogs. "Only having a one-point lead is what was on my mind."

In fact, the Pirates threatened to ambush Judge's celebration throughout the entire game. Although Cyprus never led, it kept it close throughout the second half and had more than a few chances to pull away late in the fourth quarter. But the Judge defense held tight and the Bulldogs finally put the game away on two free throws with less than 20 seconds on the clock - giving them their first chance to breathe.

But following its close victory, the Judge team quickly slipped away into the road-team locker room without much celebration.

"Someone mentioned it to me last week. To be honest, I was hoping people would forget about it," said Yerkovich. "It just means I'm getting old."

Well, it means a little more than that.

Wednesday's win added yet another accolade to Yerkovich's legacy as the winningest coach in Utah high school basketball history. Over his 43-year career, Yerkovich has led the Bulldogs to 600 wins and three state titles.

The accomplishment was only briefly mentioned in the postgame discussion, but it's something the Bulldogs were well aware of heading into this season.

"We're happy for him. It's a good thing to be a part of," said Judge's Stallon Saldivar, who finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists. "It's not just Judge basketball.

It's always been about being a part of Yerkovich basketball and being a part of that success."

But according to Yerkovich, however, this accomplishment belongs just as much to his assistant coaches of 25-years, Dan Del Porto and Marty Giovacchini.

"I always told Rick Majerus when he was still here that I had a better coaching staff than he did," said Yerkovich. "I think he agreed.

The 600 wins is just as much about the players and the coaches and the people who've surrounded me. I'm just fortunate to have had some success."

Given that success, Yerkovich has had plenty of chances to coach on the college level, but has turned those opportunities down to stay with the Bulldogs. It's a decision he said he will never regret.

"If I had to do it over again, I'd do the same thing," he said. "I've turned down a few college jobs, but nothing could replace this."

The Bulldogs missed a chance to celebrate Tuesday night, losing to Hillcrest 52-45. Although it was just a matter of time before Yerkovich reached the milestone, the Bulldogs were hoping to reach the milestone on Wednesday following a 52-45 loss to Hillcrest on the previous night.

But late into the fourth quarter, the rallying Pirates nearly postponed it again.

"We tried to keep our minds off of it, but it was also motivation for us. But I think it was also kind of a jinx tonight," said Saldivar. "We just want to win. It didn't matter where we got it. We wanted it

yesterday."

With another coaching accomplishment under his belt, Yerkovich said he's just hoping his team will stay in the mix as a contendor to defend its 2008 state title. The loss of Brown recruit and 7-foot-1 center Noel Hollingsworth left a big hole in Judge's lineup, but Yerkovich still believes his "much more mobile" team still has a chance to be a contender in 2009.

But for now, it's just one win at a time.

"I just always think about getting through tomorrow," said Yerkovich.

"We've got to just take one game at a time. I don't have too many years left in the coaching game."

For more from this game online and a photo gallery, visit www.tribpreps.com.