State Championship Preview: 2A and 3A
The 2A and 3A state tournaments have had a number of intriguing upsets. In 2A, Layton Christian, who was favored to win it all, was upset by Beaver last night. In 3A, Morgan lost to eventual state title contender Manti.
While the 4 teams that are left have earned their spots, few predicted that this would be the final bouts for 2A and 3A. Below is the preview for the two games that will take place tonight.
State Championship Preview 2A and 3A
3A: 15 #1 South Sevier vs. 15 #3 Manti
The two region foes will face off in a battle in which region 15 is guaranteed to come home with a state title. While Manti has lost both of their matches against South Sevier, they have had to go throw the #1 ranked team in 3A to make it to this point. This run to the tournament championship has been impressive. However, it is far from over.
South Sevier was able to make it here after a dog fight with Delta in which more than Caleb Barton and Brodee Tebbs were needed in order to get the win. In fact, the role players stepped up for South Sevier in a huge way.
In order for them to win this one, they will need the same assistance from guys other than Barton and Tebbs. While they have beaten Manti twice, this will be far from a walk in the park as these two teams know each other extremely well.
As far as Manti is concerned, they will need huge minutes from Matt Nelson, like always. Their game last night was close until late in the 3rd when Manti began to extend their lead due to Nelson’s solid play.
In addition to Nelson, Tanner Rasmussen and some of the other role players will need to step up in order to make sure that the 3rd time is a charm.
Prediction: This one will be closer than the 1st meeting. However, South Sevier will find a way to win due to the senior leadership of Barton and Tebbs.
2A: 18 #1 Beaver vs. 16 #2 Duchesne
Beaver pulled off the upset of the year last night as they downed Layton Christian in the final four. LCA was heavily favored to win the 2A state title. However, all it took was Beaver beating them once in the one and down format in order for that to be changed.
Beaver was led by strong play from Davis Hesslington. When things got tight down the stretch, Hesslington made key free throws and found a way to make plays in order to keep their state championship dreams alive.
In addition to Hesslington, Beaver was aided by the efforts of Porter Hollingshead. He had 16 points in the must win game. Hollingshead and Hesslington have been a dynamic duo this year in leading Beaver to this game. They will need to continue to cause headaches for the opposing teams in order for them to move on and hoist the state championship crown.
Duchesne, on the other hand, has played with absolute dominance since their 1 point loss to LCA. In fact, they have not had a game within 10 points since that contest. Duchesne lost both of their games to LCA and has played with chip on their shoulders since then.
They come into this game winning 8 of their last nine. Further, they have a number of prospects capable of making plays. The primary scorer for Duchesne is Kade Lamborn. With that said, Jarrett Spencer and Weston Poulson as well as Braden Johnson have demonstrated an ability to score and shoot the basketball from deep.
Prediction: This will be a highly competitive game. However, the shooting ability of Duchesne will be the difference maker as they will pull out this close contest.