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Woods Cross • The shooters mentality is simple: The zone is always one make away. Regarded as one of the top catch-and-shoot players in the state, Woods Cross' Trevin Knell honed into that philosophy after a first half where he was plain awful.
He'd be the first to admit it, too. Clanking shots off the front iron from deep, rimming out free throws, misfiring on decent looks in the paint — everything about the first 16 minutes against East was uncharacteristic for the third-leading scorer in the 4A classification.
Yet his confidence never trembled, and with the score tied late in the third quarter on Friday evening, Knell swished the twine for his first 3-pointer
"It was a huge sense of relief," Knell said.
It only takes one. Knell then stroked four more triples to blow open the Wildcats' 65-56 win.
"Right when I made the first one — I knew," Knell said. "I was feeling good, and I was like, 'OK, guys. Look for me,' and they did. … That's my whole mentality. If I miss a couple, I'm a great enough shooter that I can get it out of my system."
Knell finished with a game-high 31 points after his four-point first half. Woods Cross improved to 13-4 overall and 6-2 in Region 5 to remain in contention for its first region title since 2004. The Wildcats have already doubled their win total from last season, when they stumbled to a 6-16 record.
East (12-6, 4-4) failed in its attempt to sweep the season series with the Wildcats, but still remains firmly in the third seed for the postseason.
Marketed as a game featuring two of the top individual scorers in the 4A classification, with Knell and East's Dacian Spotted Elk, who tops the class with an average of 23.5 points per game, the first half was anything but an offensive expedition.
After Spotted Elk drained a contested 3-pointer following the opening tip, East carelessly coughed up turnover after turnover — from traveling to poor passes to mishandling the dribble — yet Woods Cross, which did embark on an 11-4 run, failed to take advantage of its extra possessions, leading 13-10 after the first quarter.
"I was a little frustrated," Knell said. "Blake Hansen is a great defender, and he knows how to get up and play a little bit of a mind game."
The Wildcats eventually extended their lead to 20-12 midway through the second quarter, but did not score again until after intermission, allowing East to string together an 11-4 run to open the third quarter, with Hansen's putback furnishing the Leopards' first lead, 26-24, since the first quarter.
Hayden Benz, the only other player aside from Spotted Elk to flirt with a double-figure average, started the run in the third quarter, eventually finishing with 12 points. Spotted Elk dropped 23.
Woods Cross' Colby Richardson's corner 3-pointer knotted the score at 31 apiece shortly before Knell's explosion, which separated the score by 11 points with 5:46 remaining.
Woods Cross returns to action next weekend with a critical home game against co-region leader Highland at home.
Twitter: @trevorphibbs