This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Last year, the Alta boys' basketball team started the season 0-4 but then improved to a second-place finish in league play and a spot in the Class 5A tournament.
After the Hawks left Skyline on Tuesday night with a 63-52 victory over the Eagles, they possessed a 4-1 record and plenty of optimism, this time in Class 4A.
Yet, though there were many positives including the scoring of Connor Fulton and Christian Grow, Alta coach Jim Barker concentrated on his team's biggest weakness.
"Our biggest nemesis is boxing out," he said. "If we could learn to box out better and get stops, we would be pretty good. We give up a lot of offensive boards. We have had trouble boxing people out, probably because we have a lot of thin, shorter guys in there. But if we figure that out, we will be tough."
Skyline, which dropped to 3-3 on the season, did a lot of things well. The Eagles played tough defense, terrorized Alta on the boards and never quit.
But the one thing Skyline didn't do was shoot the ball well, especially in a stretch late in the first half and early in the second when Alta turned a 19-17 deficit into a 33-19 lead. The Eagles never seriously challenged after that.
"I felt a little lucky they weren't making shots," said Barker. "We went into a two-three zone that gave them a little trouble at the beginning. Teams miss a couple, it starts to build and they get a little nervous about shooting. That is what happened. Then it went back to a regular game."
Skyline, which got 20 points from Austin Stevenson, played Alta even after that long dry spell and managed to cut the lead to eight with 3:57 to play.
But the shooting of Grow, who finished with 19 points, kept Skyline from getting closer.
Alta's Fulton, who scored 20 points to lead his team, kept the Hawks ahead early, scoring 11 of his points in the first quarter.
These two teams had the look of clubs trying to find themselves in the preseason, with Alta having more to build on but playing in the more difficult region.
If Skyline can solve some of its shooting woes, the Eagles could be a factor once Region 6 play begins.
Twitter @tribtomwharton —
Storylines
R Alta uses a 16-0 run late in the first half and early in the second to build an insurmountable lead and improve to 4-1 on the season.
• Connor Fulton scores 20 and Christian Grow adds 19 to place the Hawks.
• Austin Stevenson scores 20 for Skyline, which dropped to 3-3 in preseason play.