Boys bball: Mtn. Crest beats Woods Cross

On Dec. 29, I attended the Woods Cross-Mountain Crest boys basketball game. It's Christmas break, so fan support was pretty low. The funny thing was that the school wasn't heated during the holidays, so the gym was really cold. I spoke to coaches from Logan and Northridge who were scouting the game. Here is the article that will appear in the Woods Cross boys basketball yearbook.

A cold night for the 'Cats

 Knowles’ big game nice to see
for Mustangs in non-region win

By Bruce Smith

Matchup
 
            Playing basketball games during the Christmas holiday is a different occasion.
            Late Friday afternoon, the Woods Cross Wildcats invited Mountain Crest to play a rare game during the break. They were greeted by a frigid gym, which cooled both virtually every player except the Mustangs’ Tanner Knowles, who scored 17 points in Mountain Crest’s 58-49 non-region victory.
            “It was nice to see,” said Mountain Crest coach Graydon Buchmiller. “He was able to do that in the lower levels last year. We had some kids that weren’t 100 percent. The rest of the guys weren’t feeling ‘it’ I’m glad he came through.”
            Buchmiller said Mountain Crest hadn't played during the Christmas break for several years. It felt strange, but the Mustangs led for much of the game. Things got interesting when the Mustangs’ 10-point lead melted in the third quarter after a flurry of three-pointers by Hayden Grant, Mikey Jacobsen and Luke Jowers narrowed the margin and actually gave Woods Cross a three-point lead.
            Faimafili Lautu-Pututau scored moments later to tie the score, and then Knowles took over. He scored Mountain Crest’s next 11 points, including a three-pointer.
            Knowles came in averaging just 7.25 points per game. On this night, he made 7-of-9 shots from various locations on the court. The 17 points was his career high and this game, in all likelihood, will be one he’ll remember forever.
            Woods Cross coach Kasey Walkenhurst said he didn’t call a timeout during Mountain Crest’s run because he “wanted to see if they (his players) could figure it out.”
            “If this had been a region game, I would have done things differently,” he said.
            In this case, though, by the time Knowles was done, so were the Wildcats.
            “There really wasn’t a panic state,” said Buchmiller. “I’d prefer they didn’t wait until the fourth quarter, but they showed they could respond.”
            Mountain Crest wasn’t threatened again because, with the exception of that third-quarter disturbance, the Wildcats had trouble shooting. They ended up making just 19-of-56 (.339). Several layups, mid-range jumpers and three-pointers that normally may have fallen, bounced off the rim this time.
            Even Felipo Mokofisi tried a dunk that clanged away.
            “At halftime, our talk was about senior leadership,” said Walkenhurst. “We at least made it a game.”
            Walkenhurst praised Jacobsen, who had three treys and 13 points. Grant had 17 points, but needed 18 shots to do it. One other way Woods Cross made the game close was by forcing 13 turnovers.

GAME SUMMARY

Mountain Crest              13     15       7     23   -   58

Woods Cross                   10       8     16     15   -   49

     MOUNTAIN CREST (58) – Tyler Crosbie 3-15 3-5 9, Tanner Knowles 7-9 2-3 17, Jamison Webb 2-4 0-0 6, Eddy Hall 2-3 4-4 10, Faiamafili Lautu-Pututau 4-9 6-9 14, Tanner Kirby 0-1 2-2 2, Josh Worley 0-0 0-0 0, Jon Huff 0-0 0-0 0, Gaje Fergusen 0-0 0-0 0, Canon Schenk 0-0 0-0 0, Kaedon Buchmiller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-41 17-23 58.
     WOODS CROSS (49) – Brady Cowley 0-5 1-2 1, Hayden Grant 7-18 0-0 17, Felipo Mokofisi 2-4 0-2 4, Skyler Farnes 3-10 2-4 8, MIkey Jacobsen 5-10 0-0 13, Luke Jowers 1-2 0-0 3, Jackson Pohlman 0-4 0-0 0, Xequille Harry 0-1 0-0 0, Garrett Grant 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 19-56 3-8 49.
     Total fouls: Woods Cross 17, Mountain Crest 9. Fouled out: Jacobsen. Technical fouls: None.
     Three-point shooting: Mountain Crest 5-10 (Webb 2, Hall 2, Knowles). Woods Cross 8-25 (H. Grant 3, Jacobsen 3, Jowers, G. Grant).
     Rebounds: Mountain Crest 35 (Pututau 10), Woods Cross 31 (Mokofisi 7).
     Turnovers: Mountain Crest 13, Woods Cross 8.