Is Granger for real?

On Friday night, I noticed that the Granger Lancers upset the Jordan Beetdiggers in the first round of Jordan's "holiday" tournament. That struck me as the biggest upset of the day.

I like upsets. It makes sports interesting. That's why I closely monitor the NCAA basketball tournament and I relish watching games like Boise State-Oklahoma. It's nice when the little guy wins once in a while.

I went to Jordan the next day because I wanted to see if Granger was for real. I watched the end of the Lehi-Jordan game, and then all of the Granger-Riverton contest, which was to be for the tournament championship.

Here are some things I noticed:

* - The guy who runs the show for Lehi is Jacob Obiamo. I would like to see Lehi be successful because the deck seems stacked against them in Region 4. The Pioneers had a tough football season, and it's great to see them win. Without Obiamo, they wouldn't be. He ran the offense and, in the final seconds, he was the guy with the ball. He made some nice moves, then flipped it to his center for a layup and the 60-58 victory.

* - Granger was a disappointment. The Lancers don't know how to play team basketball. They have a lot of athletic ability, but Riverton schooled them. The Silverwolves are 8-0 because they play team ball. Granger's first four shots were from three-point land. They ran plays only after timeouts. Then it back to playing one-on-one basketball. Tre Musgrow is about the only guy who can do that with any success.

* - One of Granger's other good players - T.J. Tapusoa - was given a lesson. It's questionable whether he learned it or not. Tapusoa hit the game-winning three-pointer to beat Jordan the night before. Against Riverton, he hit another three to start the game, but then it went to his head. As the clock was winding down in the first quarter, he got the ball. He tried to dazzle the crowd with his dribbling, then he went for the shot. Everyone knew it, including Riverton. Three guys converged on him and his shot was blocked. There might have been a foul, but it doesn't matter. Tapusoa got upset, and got a technical. He sat on the bench for several minutes of the second quarter. When he got into the game again, he was whistled for a foul and mouthed off to the ref (again). He was ejected.

* - Granger needs to sit down and watch "Hoosiers." Granger could win Region 6, or finish last. It's up to them. Play the game like it's supposed to be played guys, and you will be successful. Riverton won 55-35.

* - The fan support for the games I watched was dismal. Jordan has a beautiful gym, but the thing I noticed the most was the lack of student support. During the Riverton-Granger game, I noticed six Riverton students making noise. That's all. But I didn't see any Granger students. Maybe they were there, but they were silent.

* - What's the story with the Jordan holiday tournament? What's the purpose of it? I like the idea of holiday tournaments, but it's missing something. It's missing student support, of course. I'd like to talk to Jordan athletic director Marc Hunter and see what can be done to make it better.

* - Riverton's Scott Friel is fun to watch. He's a good, but not great, player who just does everything to help his team win. He was the tourney's MVP, and he deserved it. He has the size and skills to help his team. He's the primary reason Riverton is 8-0.

Since I was at the game, I kept detailed statistics. Here is my box score:

Granger 5 12 6 12 - 35
Riverton 13 15 11 16 - 55

GRANGER (55) - Thorup 0-3 0-0 0, Musgrow 2-9 8-12 12, Scott 1-5 2-3 5, Tapusoa 2-5 0-0 5, Koyom 1-8 1-2 3, Ulugia 0-1 3-4 3, Caputo 1-2 90-0 2, Algic 1-1 0-2 3, Daniels 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 9-35 14-23 35.

RIVERTON (55) - M. Trujillo 1-3 4-4 7, Friel 5-10 1-1 11, Neilson 2-5 4-6 8, Valdez 0-1 3-4 3, Thomas 3-8 0-1 6, Gunderstrup 4-6 1-1 9, Tanner 2-2 2-4 6, A. Trujillo 0-1 1-2 1, Peterson 1-1 0-0 3, Gamblin 1-1 0-1 2. Totals: 19-38 15-22 55.

Total fouls: Granger 17, Riverton 16. Fouled out: None. Technicals: Tapusoa 2 (ejected). Rebounds: Riverton 30 (Friel, Thomas 7). Granger 24 (Koyom 7, Thorup 6). 3-point shots: Granger 3-9 (Scott, Tapusoa, Algic), Riverton 2-6 (M. Trujillo, Peterson). Turnovers: Granger 16, Riverton 13.