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Ogden • The final play was a simple one for Bountiful coach Mike Maxwell to call.

"Get the ball to Zac," he said.

The Braves did just that, and senior Zac Seljaas delivered with a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to stun upstart Murray, 58-56, Tuesday in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament.

Bountiful (18-6) won its 16th consecutive game and advanced to play Spanish Fork in Thursday's quarterfinals.

That matchup seemed far from a certainty most of the evening, though. The defending 4A champion Braves trailed by 13 points with 6 minutes remaining before ramping up the defense and leaning on Zeljaas, a BYU commit, on the offensive end.

"It's not sinking in right now," said Seljaas, who scored 13 of Bountiful's final 17 points and finished with a game-high 30. "I just shot it. … I just knew I was going to make it, and it went in."

A.J. Hodges put Murray (16-7) ahead 56-55 with 3.2 seconds left on a jumper in the lane. After a timeout and a tipped ball out of bounds, Bountiful set up for the winning play — an inbounds pass to Collin Parrish at the top of the key, and a kick-out pass to a curling Seljaas.

"We wanted first to Jeff [Pollard] or to Zac, but we had to go through Collin to get there, so we'll take it," Maxwell said. "That Collin Parrish is a smart cookie. He didn't flinch when he got the ball, and just turned and found his guy.

"Zac's money. He's a heck of a player."

It was Seljaas' fifth 3-pointer of the game and sealed an all-too-unkind fate for the young Spartans, who played from ahead most of the game. But the confidence faded in the fourth quarter as fouls and turnovers mounted, and Bountiful showed what it takes to win on the big stage.

"These guys have been there before," Maxwell said. "They made a tournament run and they know there's no quit until the last buzzer."

Maxwell also gave credit to guards Austin Parkinson and Jake LaSalle, whose defense over the final six minutes forced Murray ball-handlers into errant passes and turnovers.

James Walljasper had 16 points and Hodges added 14 for an undersized Murray team that started five juniors and didn't play a senior.

"They're great shooters. We knew they were good," Maxwell said. "They just came out on fire, and we just had to play more defense." —

Bountiful 58, Murray 56

R Zac Seljaas hits game-winning 3 at the buzzer after A.J. Hodges put Spartans ahead with a jumper with 3.2 seconds left.

• Bountiful overcomes a 13-point deficit in the final 6 minutes.