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Taylorsville • Hunter coach Robb Collins was so frustrated with the play of junior forward Jake Haram on Tuesday night that he almost pulled him from the game.
Instead he stuck with the junior forward who scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, including the tying and winning baskets in the final minutes to lead the Wolverines to a thrilling 69-67 win over Taylorsville in the battle for first place in Region 2.
This league has been largely forgotten in 5A basketball this year because no team came into league play with a winning record. Hunter evened its mark at 9-9 on the season with its come-from-behind victory, but, more importantly, is 5-0 in league play.
"We had to fight hard the whole game," said Haram, who joined Noah Togiai in helping Hunter fight back from nine down in the fourth quarter. "We weren't getting a lot of calls. The refs were kind of cheap with those, so we just had to play as a team and keep working."
Perhaps the key play of the game came late in the fourth quarter. Togiai, a Ute football and basketball recruit who led all scorers with 24 points, stole the ball and missed what would have been a massive dunk. But Haram was right there for the put-back. Then the junior forward hit the game's winning basket with 6.8 seconds to go.
"I've seen him dunk, and he usually makes them," said Haram of Togiai's miss. "But I was ready for whatever is going to come. You expect the unexpected."
A desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer by Taylorsville's Jameson Tonge, who led his team with 23 points, fell short and the Warriors lost their first league game and dropped to 6-11 on the season.
"I was ready to put him on the bench and not put him back in the game," said Hunter coach Robb Collins of Haram. "His head was on and off, and he was so wishy-washy. But you have got to love a kid who tied it and then let us take the lead."
This was an intense, exciting game between two scrappy, streaky teams who like to fast break, attack the basket and hit the 3-point basket.
Taylorville clung to a tenuous lead much of the game, but appeared to be in good shape by scoring the first five points of the fourth quarter to grab a 56-47 lead.
But Togiai and Haram slowly chipped into that lead, and Taylorsville, which struggled with its free-throw shooting all night, hit only four of eight in the fourth quarter to allow Hunter to fight back.
"I'm still kind of shocked because I kind of let the kids down," said Collins. "I got so worked up with the officiating, but the reality is, once you look back at it, it wasn't that bad. And, if it was, it was both ways. I could have been a little calmer myself. Credit the kids. You always want a team that finds a way to win. I didn't feel like we ever had control of it. We just kept scrapping and found a way to win."
Twitter @tribtomwharton —
Storylines
• Hunter's Jake Haram scores all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, including a put-back that ties the game and a game-winner with 6.8 seconds to play.
• Hunter nets 24 points from Noah Togiai in improving to 5-0 — taking control of Region 2.
• Jameson Tonge scores 23 for Taylorsville.