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By almost all accounts, Timpview's Gavin Baxter and AJ Bollinger comprise one of the best high school basketball frontcourts in the state, with Baxter's athleticism and Bollinger's girth and ballerina-like post moves proving difficult for almost anyone to stop.

On Saturday afternoon, Olympus didn't stop them. But the Titans slowed Baxter and Bollinger so significantly that their defense of the two in the second half propelled them to their first-ever Class 4A state title.

By the end of the 51-44 Olympus win, Baxter and Bollinger were frustrated. By the end of what turned into an emphatic Titans conquest, there was no doubt as to how good the defense was. In the second half alone, the Thunderbirds could only muster 17 points.

"Our defense was stellar in the second half," Olympus coach Matt Barnes said. "We did a great job. Baxter and Bollinger, their two big kids, they are a load. They are tough, so we just tried to make it tough for them. We tried to sit down in the post, be aggressive and physical with them. And then we had to get the rebound."

The results were tangible. Baxter, a 6-foot-7 BYU commit, scored a team-high 18 points, but he went 3 of 14 from the field. Bollinger, who was dominant in Friday's semifinal win over Highland, was held to seven points, as Olympus forward Isaac Monson used long arms and positioning to bother him in the paint.

With their two best players effectively muted, Timpview couldn't retrieve the production elsewhere. Thunderbirds guard Levi Wilson did score 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting, but Hunter Ericson off the bench was the only other Timpview player besides those three to score a point.

The Titans — undersized in the paint — held a 28-19 rebound advantage. Olympus held the Thunderbirds to 15-percent shooting in the second half, and Timpview couldn't find an offensive rhythm after halftime.

"You have to give Isaac and Matt [Lindsey] a lot of credit," Titans guard Miles Keller said. "Those guys did a great job defensively on their big guys, and it helped a lot that we didn't have to bring any double teams."

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