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Orem • The inbounds pass was errant, which blew up the play that was drawn up in the huddle. So Kearns' Nick Valles improvised, and the result was something he'll never forget.

The junior guard launched a 25-footer to beat the buzzer and bounce East from the Class 4A boys' basketball tournament for a frantic and frenetic 51-48 Kearns victory Monday evening.

"It felt great. It felt great. A wonderful feeling," said Valles, after he was tackled in celebration by teammates on the UCCU Events Center court. "I looked back at the time and knew what I had to do. I just got it done.

"I just feel like crying right now."

The basket gave Kearns (18-6) its only lead of the game, after the Cougars failed on five previous tries to push ahead.

"Nicky V is a competitor," Kearns coach Dan Cosby said. "He made some bad decisions earlier by not listening to the play. He still didn't listen to the play, but I guess he figured he'd go and win it for us.

"I didn't think it was going in, but it went in."

Kearns trailed 39-30 at the start of the fourth, and a 3-pointer early in the quarter by East's Dacian Spotted Elk made the deficit 12. The Cougars rallied, though, thanks to a pressure defense that gave East (15-8) fits. But Kearns repeatedly came up with empty possessions and missed free throws with a chance to go ahead.

Valles forced a crucial jump ball off a missed free throw with 58 seconds left to set up the final possession.

"That was all desire," Cosby said. "I think he saw an opening and he just wanted it."

Kur Kuath scored 17 points and Valles added 13 as Kearns advanced to Wednesday's quarterfinals against Timpview at the University of Utah.

Spotted Elk scored a game-high 18 points and all nine of East's fourth-quarter points.

"I told the kids if we kept Dacian under 20 and kept them under 50, we'd win," Cosby said.

With the win, the Cougars picked up where they left off a year ago in Ogden, when they were a surprise runner-up in the 2015 state tournament. —

Storylines

R Nick Valles' 25-footer at the buzzer gives Kearns its only lead of the game.

• East's Dacian Spotted Elk scores a game-high 18, including all nine of the Leopards' points in the fourth.