That much was evident in Riverton's 52-32 romp over Jordan in the Class 5-A quarterfinals on Thursday night.

The Beetdiggers packed their defense in the paint against the 6-foot-7 Grim, daring Riverton's outside shooters to beat them. They obliged, helping the Silverwolves get out to a 23-4 lead early in the second quarter.

"We were trying to play inside-outside, and when they're packing it in like that, you've got to have a couple of guys stick some threes to make them play a little more honest," said Riverton coach Steve Galley. "Corey Caldwell hit some big shots, Brad Kraft hit some shots. They all did some good things."

Caldwell, Kraft and Lucas Philipoom each made a three-pointer in the first quarter to loosen up Jordan's defense. Riverton's defense held the Beetdiggers to one basket in the first quarter. By the time the first quarter was over, the game was over.

"My whole team stepped up, so it was pretty cool," Grim said.

Jordan shot just 33 percent from the field and looked nothing like the team that stunned Region 1 champion Davis on Tuesday. A big reason for the Beetdiggers' change in fortunes was the Darts didn't hit outside shots in Tuesday's game, and Riverton, which shot 59 percent from the field, did.

What may have been the biggest deciding factor in the game was the Silverwolves' defense. Riverton contested shots, forced turnovers and turned them into points throughout the game.

aaragon@sltrib.com