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Richfield • Beaver coach Joe Hillock laughed in agreement to the joke about South Summit disliking the entire city of Beaver this year.
It might be true.
The Beavers pulled off a massive upset of the Wildcats in the football championship in November, and on Thursday in the Class 2A boys' basketball quarterfinals, they replicated the feat with a 55-48 overtime win on the hardwood.
The Wildcats led nearly the entire duration of regulation behind Kaden Atkinson and Mason Gines.
"We talked about it at halftime," Hillock said at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield. "I think the kids were a little amped up. That's the replay of the state championship football game, so I think both teams were a little juiced early."
Beaver rimmed out several clean attempts in the fourth quarter, desperately trying to get over that final hurdle, before finally taking its first lead with six minutes remaining on a pair of Kord Snyder free throws.
Beaver's Matt Roberts then connected on two free throws with 15.2 seconds left for a 44-41 lead. Aside from Atkinson, South Summit had yet to establish another threat from the perimeter, so on the final possession, Beaver instinctively double-teamed him. Atkinson nearly coughed up a turnover, before scrambling and finding Tanner Anderson, who buried a cold-blooded 3-pointer as time expired to force overtime.
"We didn't play that defense right," Hillock said. "We were supposed to switch out on it and make him dribble-drive. That kid hit a great 3."
Beaver surged ahead early in the extra period, jumping out to a four-point advantage. South Summit elected not to foul early, wasting precious time off the clock and draining its allotment of timeouts. The Wildcats eventually executed a perfect lob off a designed inbound play, but were whistled for a technical foul for calling timeout without any left.
The Beavers added more freebies to preserve the win when South Summit was whistled for another technical for slamming the ball into the court moments later.
"I was really proud of the way our kids executed in overtime," Hillock said. "We really did a good job getting the ball where we wanted it and putting them on their heels."
Layton Christian 50, North Summit 49 (OT) • The top-ranked Eagles received the ultimate scare against the Braves, whose trio of post players — Mason and Braden Richins and Tyler Coleman — controlled the glass and opened lanes for Eric Wayment, who tallied a game-high 21 points.
North Summit went on a 10-0 run to open the second quarter for 14-10 lead before Leonardo Lupiano stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer for the top-ranked Eagles. Mark Burton's crossover triple knotted the score at 16-16 shortly thereafter. However, the Braves led 24-22 at halftime.
"Whew!" Layton Christian coach Bobby Porter exclaimed. "They're well-coached. It was a great job. It is tournament time. Nobody wants to lose. You're going to get everybody's best effort."
The Eagles were held nearly 30 points below their season average, but overcame their sloppy fourth-quarter play thanks to a strong burst out of the gates in the second half.
North Summit knotted the score at 46 apiece with 1:42 left in regulation on Wayment's three-point play after he scooped up a layup with contact. Layton Christian milked 54 seconds off the clock for the final shot, but waited too long, as Nicolas Urruita's unbalanced jumper clanked off the glass.
Tied once again in the extra period, LCA elected to foul Wayment rather than allow North Summit to drain the clock. He proceeded to hit 1 of 2 before Ivan Kamili, who finished with a team-high 12 points, muscled up the game-winner on the opposite end for the Eagles.
"I've got some great kids," Porter said. "They stayed calmed under pressure. When I called their number, they respond[ed]."
It wasn't pretty, but in the postseason, it's about surviving.
"What happens is, either you win or your uniform goes on mothballs for next year," Porter quipped.
Summit Academy 68, Waterford 58 • It never felt close but it also never felt out of reach. The Bears never trailed and ballooned their lead into double figures, but failed to snuff the Ravens' flame.
Waterford hit nine 3-pointers while Summit Academy missed eight free throws, but the closest the fourth quarter came was 62-56 with 49.6 seconds left.
"We played like crap again," said Summit Academy coach Evric Grey. "It's us getting to trust each other. That's the big issue we've had all year, even though we have a good record. We still fight the trust issues. We never really put four quarters together."
Darrin Gethers shined once again, pouring in a game-high 24 points, and was the one bright spot at the free-throw line, hitting all six of his attempts. He added eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.
"I've never really had a point guard like him," Grey said. "Never. It's hard to guard him. I trust his offense better than their defense."
Tyranny Pace chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and four assists and Sam Velez finished with 11 points for the Bears. Jackson Sponaugle and Xander Priskos combined for 30 points in the loss for the Ravens.
It's Summit Academy's first trip the semifinals in the four-year program history.
Emery 48, Delta 32 • Seventeen turnovers is never going to sit well with any coach, but at least Emery's Todd Jeffs was able to pinpoint his attention on his team's defensive efforts.
"We didn't take care of the ball very well. It was the most disappointing thing of the game for me," Jeffs said. "We missed some shots, but we turned it over a ton and I think that sent the tone for the way the game went, but our defense was good. We were pretty strong there."
The Spartans forced Delta into committing 18 turnovers, while flustering the Rabbits into shooting 32 percent from the field, including 1 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Bowdie Jacobson finished with 15 points, a game high, while corralling five rebounds and dishing out three assists. Jacobson was the hero in last year's quarterfinal win against Summit Academy, banking in an off-balanced 3-pointer immediately following a four-point play to cap a furious fourth-quarter rally at the buzzer. The shot forced overtime, where the Spartans eventually won after trailing by double digits.
The two programs will meet again on Friday.
"They probably owe us one. We kind of snuck one away from them with that last-second shot to put it into overtime," Jeffs said. "Very talented team. We got to do a good job with eliminating penetration from their guards. We got to strap it up and do better than we did tonight."
Twitter: @trevorphibbs Layton Christian 50, North Summit 49 (OT) • Ivan Kamili scored a team-high 12 points and muscled up the game-winning shot for the top-ranked Eagles, who were held nearly 30 points below their season average. Eric Wayment scored a game-high 21 points for North Summit.
Summit Academy 68, Waterford 58 • Point guard Darrin Gethers scored a game-high 24 points and added eight rebounds, six assists and three steals as the Bears earned their first trip the semifinals in the four-year program history. The Bears never trailed, but Waterford kept the game close by hitting nine 3-pointers and trailed just 62-56 with 49.6 seconds left. Tyranny Pace chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and four assists and Sam Velez finished with 11 points for the Bears. Jackson Sponaugle and Xander Priskos combined for 30 points in the loss for the Ravens.
Emery 48, Delta 32 • The Spartans committed 17 turnovers but relied on defense to earn the victory, forcing 18 turnovers while flustering the Rabbits into shooting 32 percent from the field, including 1 of 9 from beyond the arc. Emery's Bowdie Jacobson finished with a game-high 15 points while corralling five rebounds and dishing out three assists.