2A quarterfinal thoughts

This marks my fourth year covering the 2A boys and girls basketball tournaments since I started working as a sports reporter a few years ago. I have a great appreciation for sports in this classification since I attended South Summit – a 2A school – during my high school days.
The small-town atmosphere around state tournament games is fun. It is a unique feeling for an athlete to see scores of people from your hometown in the stands cheering you on. That personal touch is something lost with the bigger schools.
For me, nothing compares to the hectic pace of the quarterfinal round. I put in 15 hours and wrote articles on all eight games, which you can read today on deseretnews.com.
After having a night to unwind from that marathon of coverage, I thought I would share a few thoughts and observations from the 2A quarterfinal games:

Fourth quarter turnarounds:

You have to hand it to South Summit, South Sevier and Kanab. All three teams found a way to put the hammer down in the fourth quarter to turn previously tight games into comfortable victories.
The Rams led Layton Christian 42-38 before outscoring the Eagles 22-6 over the final six minutes. The Cowboys and The Wildcats had even more incredible finishes because both teams seemed to be on the ropes in the third quarter of their respective games.
Kanab trailed North Summit 48-41 with 2:49 left in the third quarter and the Braves seemed to have all the momentum after Keegan McQueen stole the ball and cashed in a layup off the turnover to create that seven point margin. But the Cowboys turned things around after getting out and scoring some baskets in transition and outscored North Summit 36-17 over the final 10 minutes.
South Summit looked to be in an equally bleak situation after falling behind 34-24 to Enterprise after Robert Hunt scored a basket with 47 seconds left in the third quarter. The Wildcats could do almost nothing right on offense up to that point and it didn’t look like they would pull out of their funk in time with just under nine minutes to go.
A three point play by senior Josh Limb just 10 seconds later breathed new life in South Summit. It did more than just cut the Wolves’ lead to seven. It was the initial spark in a game ending 31-7 run.

Ending droughts:

South Sevier occupies a familiar position as a semifinalist in both the 2A boys and girls tournaments. For many other teams, their victories yesterday represented the first time they have made it this far in several seasons.
I asked Jerry Parker when the last time South Summit made it to the semifinal round. He told me that the Wildcats haven’t been this far since Kent Frazier coached the team two decades ago. You could tell that the coaches, players and fans were all thrilled beyond words to finally break that drought and put to rest the recent history of early round postseason stumbles.
Waterford is also in a semifinal game for the first time since the Ravens won a 1A state title back in 2002. Kanab will make a semifinal appearance for the first time since 2006.

Notable performances:

Tressa Lyman and Jodi Williams, Enterprise: In a 45-34 victory over North Sevier, Lyman scored 16 points and collected 14 rebounds and Williams added 14 points. Their dominance around the basket is one reason why Enterprise was not really seriously threatened by their counterpart Wolves – even at times when the score was close.

Neal Monson, Waterford: I have rarely seen a player take over a game completely like Monson did against North Sevier. The U of U bound senior scored 29 points, collected 14 rebounds, blocked three shots and had three steals in a 39-27 Ravens’ victory. What was most amazing about that stat line is that Monson scored all 20 of his team’s second-half points. His presence alone has taken what would be an average Waterford team into a 2A title contender.

Rhees Jackson and Payton Jesus, Kanab: Jackson and Jesus formed a one-two punch for the Cowboys that ended up being deadly for North Summit. Jackson scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Jesus chipped in 19 points. The two seniors also combined to make six 3-pointers.

Race Parsons, South Sevier: Only a freshman, Parsons played with the poise of a senior leader against Layton Christian. Parsons scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the first half of the Rams’ eventual 64-44 victory when the rest of his teammates were still struggling to find their shot. It set the stage for an eventual fourth-quarter push that allowed South Sevier to break open a close game.

A fun non-basketball moment:

I always get some entertainment listening to the school bands before tipoff because sometimes you get a band here or there that likes to throw in songs or music you don’t normally hear at a sporting event (in other words, something not written by Queen).
North Summit’s band immediately caught my attention before their boys team played Kanab. They played a rendition of the Indiana Jones theme while the teams were going through warmups. It was the first time I had heard that particular music at a game. I usually hear Star Wars music. But rarely Indiana Jones music.
I wish I could hear that theme played more often. Of course, maybe that’s because Raiders of the Lost Ark has always been one of my favorite movies.

—