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Ogden • It wasn't enough that Brighton's Brock Miller was handling the ball and scoring most of his team's points in Wednesday's quarterfinal boys' 5A basketball tournament game.
He also began guarding Hunter's Noah Togiai in the second quarter at a time when the Wolverines star was beginning to take over the game.
The result was that Miller played an incredible all-around game to lead Brighton to a 65-56 victory over Hunter and into Friday's semifinals.
Miller finished the game with 30 points and six rebounds while slowing down Togiai enough to help the Bengals keep Hunter at bay.
"He has developed into a very good all-around basketball player," Brighton coach Jeff Gardner said about Miller. "He handles the ball, rebounds, and obviously his shot is dialed in right now. It's an all-around game."
Gardner said Simi Fehoko did a good job on Togiai in the first quarter, but when the Hunter star began to get rolling, he thought a different look was in order.
Miller obviously relished the challenge.
"Noah is a great player," he said. "We needed to lock down as much as we could on him. Give them credit. They are a good team. They play really well together. It was good for us to come and get this one. It was definitely a confidence builder that will give us some momentum."
Hunter, the Region 2 champion, started slow but caught fire midway through the second quarter, taking its first lead with 3:21 to play.
Togiai, who finished with 27 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a block in his final high school game before heading to Oregon State to play football and basketball, did most of the damage for Hunter.
He had 17 points in that first half and only 10 in the second, when Miller hounded him all over the court.
Brighton was also helped by a taller front line. John Gremillion, who finished with 14 points for the Bengals, scored six of those in the decisive third quarter when Brighton built a double-digit lead.
Hunter, a team with no quit in it, fought back to within four late in the game but, on this night, Brighton was just too good.
"The kids are confident and playing well," said Gardner. "We will have a tough test on Friday, but I know we won't come out nervous or afraid."
Twitter: @tribtomwharton —
Brighton 65, Hunter 56
R Brock Miller leads Brighton with 30 points and six rebounds, while doing a good job playing defense on Hunter star Noah Togiai.
• Togiai, who is headed to Oregon State to play football and basketball, scores 27 points, hauls down nine rebounds, dishes out four assists and has a steal and a block.
• Brighton center John Gremillion has a big night as well, scoring 14 points, grabbing eight rebounds and being too much for Hunter to handle inside.