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Orem • South Summit faced a problem in the first round of the Class 2A boys' basketball tournament against higher-seeded San Juan. The Broncos were pulling away, and the Wildcats needed to adjust quickly.
San Juan had built its largest lead of the game midway through the third quarter, prompting Summit to change its defensive philosophy by clamping down on the Broncos' two main offensive threats and challenging others to beat them.
The strategy fueled a 19-4 run over the remainder of the third quarter and deep into the fourth, allowing South Summit to essentially milk its 54-46 win at the free-throw line to advance to the quarterfinals at the Sevier Valley Center on Thursday in Richfield.
"That was probably one of our better games we've played all year," said South Summit coach Dusty Hatch. "I told our guys, 'We really haven't beaten anybody.' We've played a lot of good teams, but we haven't beaten a team we're not supposed to beat. Today, I thought we did that."
After both teams enjoyed turns in the 2A classification power rankings throughout the season, it was believed to be the most competitive matchup of the first round, and it lived up to that expectation. The early-morning tip didn't deter either fan base from packing the stands at Orem High.
South Summit's Kaden Atkinson, who tallied a game-high 22 points, Jason McNeil and Mason Gines — both of whom finished with 11 points — collectively converted 12 free throws in the final eight minutes.
"We hit free throws, which was big. That's not our strong point," Hatch admitted after South Summit shot 13 of 22 from the line.
San Juan's Jaden Torgerson's 3-pointer was the difference in the first quarter, with the Broncos leading 13-10, but South Summit countered with a 9-0 spurt in the opening five minutes of the second quarter.
The Broncos (11-9), the No. 2 seed from Region 15 — who concluded the season on a three-game slide — battled back with a torrent of triples, including Jordan Blake's NBA-range 3-pointer that cut the deficit to one before San Juan captured a 24-22 advantage into the break.
San Juan built its largest lead of the game, 30-24, midway through the third quarter, when South Summit (14-10), the third-seed from Region 16, redirected its attention to stopping Torgerson and Blake.
"We started sagging off their non-shooters and protecting the paint," Hatch explained. "We pushed up really hard on [Torgerson and Blake], those kids can light it up from anywhere. I told them, 'Run 'em off the line. We can't give them 3s.' It allowed us to help if they beat us around the corner. We had somebody there to help stop them."
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Storylines
R South Summit uses 19-4 run to advance to the Class 2A quarterfinals with win against San Juan.
• Kaden Atkinson, who tallied a game-high 22 points, Jason McNeil and Mason Gines, both of whom finished with 11 points, lead the Wildcats. —
Prep tournament schedules
Class 2A girls
First round
• Emery 52, Maeser Prep 46
• Delta 44, Waterford 14
• South Sevier 47, Layton Christian 28
• North Summit 58, Manti 44
• Enterprise 44, Wasatch Academy 32
• Summit Academy 57, San Juan 42
• North Sevier 60, South Summit 20
• Millard 75, Rowland Hall 30
Quarterfinals, Thursday
At Sevier Valley Center
• Emery vs. Delta, 4:10 p.m.
• South Sevier vs. North Summit, 5:50 p.m.
• Enterprise vs. Summit Academy, 7:30 p.m.
• North Sevier vs. Millard, 9:10 p.m.
Class 2A boys
First round
• South Summit 54, San Juan 46
• Beaver 56, Rowland Hall 45
• Layton Christian 82, Millard 56
• North Summit 59, Manti 54
• Waterford 48, Enterprise 43
• Summit Academy 76, North Sevier 69
• Emery 69, Providence Hall 53
• Delta 63, Rockwell 39
Quarterfinals, Thursday
At Sevier Valley Center
• South Summit vs. Beaver, 9:30 a.m.
• Layton Christian vs. North Summit, 11:10 a.m.
• Waterford vs. Summit Academy, 12:50 p.m.
• Emery vs. Delta, 2:30 p.m.
Class 3A girls
First round
• Richfield 37, Logan 28
• Snow Canyon 78, Park City 44
• Pine View 54, Union 48
• Morgan 56, Juab 51
• Stansbury 68, Desert Hills 63 (OT)
• Carbon 47, Bear River 22
• Juan Diego 49, North Sanpete 40
• Cedar 60, Grantsville 38
Quarterfinals, Thursday
At Southern Utah University
• Richfield vs. Snow Canyon, 4:10 p.m.
• Pine View vs. Morgan, 5:50 p.m.
• Stansbury vs. Carbon, 7:30 p.m.
• Cedar vs. Juan Diego, 9: 10 p.m.
Class 3A boys
First round
• Logan 73, Carbon 52
• Dixie 59, Stansbury 39
• Snow Canyon 52, Union 42
• Bear River 51, Richfield 50
• Pine View 56, Grantsville 48 (OT)
• Canyon View 49, Morgan 46
• Juan Diego 71, Juab 58
• Desert Hills 56, Tooele 49
Quarterfinals, Thursday
At Southern Utah University
• Logan vs. Dixie, 9:30 a.m.
• Snow Canyon vs. Bear River, 11:10 a.m.
• Pine View vs. Canyon View, 12:50 p.m.
• Juan Diego vs. Desert Hills, 2:30 p.m.