Weekend recap and observations

Before you all run off to do some caroling or pick up that last-minute Christmas gift at the mall, I thought I’d update all of you prep basketball fans out there in cyberspace on some of the exciting boys’ basketball tournaments you might have missed last week while battling snowstorms.

Here is a look what happened at a few in-state tournaments over the weekend and what it could mean as the season progresses:

Dixie Great 8 Tournament

If Provo does successfully claim a third straight 4A title like many people expect, the Bulldogs stiffest competition could come from a crosstown rival. Orem has looked fantastic in the preseason and the Tigers’ performance in St. George offers plenty of solid evidence of that.

Over three days, Orem beat Pine View, Snow Canyon and Wasatch to capture the tournament championship. Its debatable how strong any of those teams really are — given that all three were expected to rebuild this season. But going on the road to these type of tournaments and coming away with a 3-0 record is never an easy feat.

Ian Harward gave an indication of why he was a prized recruit for BYU. in a 57-47 championship win over Wasatch, Harward had a rare kind of triple-double: 13 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks. Jordan Egbert looked solid at Dixie State as well, averaging 17.3 points over three games.

Snow Canyon came out looking like its rebuilding process won’t take long. The Warriors chalked up a 2-1 record with wins over American Fork and Timpview and pushed Orem to the limit, leading by as much as 10 points before Egbert rallied the Tigers to a 51-46 win. Clark Anderson is still the main gun on offense, but the Warriors are starting to develop some nice balance and depth around him.

Utah Summer Games Invite

The Davis offense looks to be officially back after a forgettable performance at Alta earlier this month. The Darts picked up a pair of huge victories in Cedar City over the weekend. Against Murray and Centennial, Nev., Davis averaged 62.5 points per game while allowing only 43 points.

One reason for the turnaround has been the emergence of sharpshooters like Trevor Daniels, Jordan Welk and Chris Larabee. In the Darts’ last four games, Daniels has shined in particular, with an average of 15.8 points per game and 10 3-pointers in that span. He has, in a short time, become one of the top 10 three-point shooters in 5A.

What does this mean for Davis? The Darts always excel when they have an inside-outside combo to keep defenses honest. With James Cowser looking solid in the middle and players like Daniels, Welk and Larrabee stepping up on the outside, Davis will be in the hunt for the Region 1 title yet again.

Jordan Invitational

It’s amazing to think how stacked Region 3 is at the top this year. Riverton was picked to finish third behind West Jordan and Bingham and, already, the Silverwolves look like legit title contenders.

Riverton swept the tournament hosted by Jordan High in dominating fashion. They routed a solid Lehi squad 63-46 on the first day and throttled a Granger team fresh off an upset of Jordan by a 55-35 margin.

Obviously, Scott Friel has been huge for Riverton. His impact isn’t measured by his own offensive stats as much as it is by how well he elevates the play of his teammates. Against both Granger and Lehi, nine other players scored besides Friel and no one scored more than 14 points. Such even distribution in convincing victories shows that Friel understands his team and knows how to get everyone involved.

Richfield Tournament

Both Escalante and Richfield had nice showings in this two-day tournament. The Wildcats pounded Blythe, Calif 61-27 on the tournament’s first day and got a solid win over 1A power Escalante by a 61-53 margin on the second day.

For Richfield, it further enhances the team’s already strong defensive credentials, which should give the team an advantage in a loaded Region 12. In running out to a 6-0 start, the Wildcats have allowed only 38.8 points per game — the best in 2A — and have held opponents under 30 points twice.

The fact that the Moquis are the only team to post over 50 points on Richfield shows how tough they are going to be for their 1A competition to contain. Escalante is second in 1A offensively, averaging 66.7 points per game. In the Moquis’ first game at Richfield, they blasted 3A opponent North Sanpete 81-52 behind six 3-pointers and 26 points from Tim Hughes. It was just a normal game for Hughes, who leads 1A with 23.8 points per game.

—-