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Draper • Not often does a reserve steal the spotlight by making steals.

But Juan Diego sophomore guard Ignacio Arroyo did that with six steals, including three in a crucial 18-0 run in the second half as the Screaming Eagle beat Bear River 52-49 on Wednesday night in a game between two of the top five teams in the Class 3A state rankings.

During Juan Diego's big run, which bridged the third and fourth quarters, Arroyo had three steals on three consecutive possessions, finishing each with a layup.

"I always say he's got really long arms and just a knack for where people are going to pass it," Soaring Eagle coach Drew Trost said. "He does that to us in practice all the time and gets a whole bunch of steals. He's just got great hands and he's always active."

Juan Diego improved to 11-2 overall and 1-0 in region play with the victory. Bear River is 9-4 overall, 0-1 in Region 11.

The Bears led by 10 points in the second quarter after a 3-pointer by Riley Fonnesbeck, and extended the lead to as much as 12 points after the first basket of the third quarter by Mike Litchford, who finished with a team-high 12 points for Bear River.

Juan Diego then used its big run to take the lead in the fourth quarter, and extended it to nine points with three minutes remaining before Bear River started to regain momentum.

Bears substitute guard Wyatt Roholt made an impact, with six points overall. His two free throws with seven seconds left narrowed Juan Diego's lead to 50-49. The Bears then had a chance to take the lead after forcing a five-second violation on Juan Diego after Roholt's free throws.

But Bear River then committed a turnover of its own, giving Juan Diego possession back. The Soaring Eagle pushed their lead to three points, as Eslliey Tan hit a pair of free throws with five seconds left, and Bear River's desperation 3 to tie the game by Parker Coombs glanced off the front rim.

"I thought in the third and fourth quarters, they really utilized their big guys real well," Bear River coach Scott Hunt said. "We had a hard time stopping that and, you couple that with that [defensive] pressure, it's hard for these young kids to handle that.

"There's good team making a run at you, one that's supposed to beat you probably on paper," he added. "You've got a good lead and they're coming at you in the front court and it all kind of contributed to our demise."

Jason Ricketts, who also came off the bench, scored 12 points to lead Juan Diego. Arroyo finished with 10 points. —

Juan Diego 52, Bear River 49

R Juan Diego overcomes a 12-point deficit by scoring 18 straight points in second half.

• Soaring Eagle sophomore guard Ignacio Arroyo has five of his six steals in that 18-point run.

• Mike Litchford scores 12 points to lead Bear River, Jason Ricketts scores 12 to pace Juan Diego.