Logan basketball 2011-12 season recap

Here is the article I wrote for the Logan (Utah) boys basketball yearbook, recapping the Grizzlies' 2011-12 season.

Grizz turn their fortunes around

Senior leadership,
early season victories
spell success in 2011-12

By Bruce Smith
Matchup

It was a good sports year at Logan High School. Shortly after the football team thrilled the school and the local community by winning the 4A championship, the basketball team took to the court.

Coach Logan Brown welcomed the higher expectations the football squad’s success brought. The players took that to heart and it resulted in success after success. The Grizzlies had an eight-game winning streak early in the season. That paved the way to a 16-6 overall record and a share of the Region 5 championship.

“It was a very good journey for our team,” said Brown, whose club was 5-16 a year ago. “You have to credit the kids for changing that tradition and getting us back on track. It was a magical season.”

The season included a thrilling 77-75 home victory over Sky View, which was rated the top 4A team prior to the season. Logan won several close games during the year, including the final two that put the Grizzlies on top of the standings at the end.

The Grizz did it with a defense that focused on deflections and creating turnovers. That fed their fastbreak and helped them average 63.7 points per game, which was among the highest in Utah.

Logan advanced to the 4A state tournament but fell to Herriman on a last-second shot.

After winning a few games the same way this year, what goes around finally came around.

“The excitement of our games … there was nothing better,” said Brown. “Winning is contagious and there were about 10 games where we were down late and our guys found a way to win. You attribute that go kids who just expect to win.

“We showed a high level of character,” he added. “They always seemed to find a way.”

The Grizzlies were led in scoring by senior Russell Murphy, who averaged 15.6 points per game and started the year strong despite missing most of the summer practice time with a shoulder injury.

He had a lot of help. Luke Falk averaged 11.1 ppg, and senior Johnny Luke helped the team to victory in many ways. Luke was voted Region 5’s top defensive player. He averaged just 6.7 ppg, but was the team leader in assists and steals. He had 4.6 rebounds per game and opponents always had to know where he was on the court.

“We had good leadership from our seniors, but we also had a lot of guys step up,” said Brown.

It started with the team’s trip to St. George in December. After the long bus ride, the team opened the four-team Ken Robison Classic with an 81-77 overtime victory over Spanish Fork, handing the Dons their first loss of the year. Then, on the next night, the Grizzlies downed the home team – Dixie – in another close game.

“That trip to St. George was great because we got tested in both of them,” Brown said. “After that, we had close games against Ogden, Bear River and Park City. The Hunter game taught us a lesson about making free throws and finishing games, and it helped us later to get put in a lot of those situations.”

Logan finished 7-3 in region play. The Grizzlies split with rival Sky View, but dropped both games to Mountain Crest. Each of those contests were intense and played in front of huge crowds. All of the Cache County schools are filled with sports tradition and the Grizzlies were able to match their counterparts this year.

Brown recognized he will lose four seniors – Murphy, Luke, Joe Bennion and Jake Cazier – to graduation, but felt the upcoming players, as well as the success brought from the junior varsity and sophomore programs, should keep Logan near the top.

“It takes time to achieve success when you move up (Logan moved from 3A to 4A in 2009-10), but our boys basketball program has tradition. No matter what league you’re in, you always have to play to high expectations.”