2A semifinal thoughts

What South Summit accomplished in Richfield on Friday night counts as one of the bigger upsets in high school basketball during the past few years.
The Wildcats stunned the Rams 62-59 in the 2A semifinals last night and now face Region 14 rival Waterford tonight for a chance to claim the school’s first state title since earning the 1A crown back in 1976. For the Ravens, it is their first opportunity to claim a state championship since 2002.
Either outcome will be a great story come Sunday morning.
Friday night, however, belonged solely to the Wildcats, given the magnitude of what they did.
To put it in perspective, South Sevier came into the game 23-0 and had beaten 12 straight opponents by 20 points or more. The Rams had not allowed an opponent come within single digits of them since beating Enterprise 67-58 in the Cowboy Classic on December 18th.
Still, maintaining that kind of dominance over a lengthy stretch meant that a tight game might not favor South Sevier and that’s exactly what South Summit coach Jerry Parker counted on when his team faced off against the Rams.
“Here was our philosophy: If we could keep it close, we knew that we might have a chance of them tightening up,” Parker said. “All the pressure was on them. That’s a heck of a team. They had done something that’s almost unreal in this day and age. We knew if we could keep it close, it would put that much more pressure on them.”
One of the things that stood out about South Summit most was its offensive efficiency. The Wildcats made 11-of-22 shots from the field in the first half and converted 12-of-18 of their field goal attempts in the second half. Nine of those field goals were 3-pointers.
South Sevier just could not match those numbers. The Rams went 11-of-27 in the first half and were just 8-of-19 from the field in the second half. They managed to make just three field goals in the final quarter.
Another thing that impressed me about the Wildcats was their defensive toughness in the second half. Judd Rydalch stood out in that area in particular. Rydalch not only was the leading scorer with 14 points, but he also snagged several crucial steals and offered a physical presence down low.
Finally you have to credit South Summit in keeping their poise in what was essentially a road environment. Ram fans greatly outnumbered Wildcat fans in the Sevier Valley Center on Friday night. But the Wildcats did not let the crowd get in their heads in those final minutes and seconds.

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Notable Semifinal Performances:

Neal Monson: If the University of Utah can get similar production from Monson to what he gives Waterford, he will turn out to be a great recruiting find for the Utes. Monson had yet another dominant performance on Friday night — scoring 23 points in a 51-34 semifinal victory for the Ravens over Kanab. He also pulled down seven rebounds and blocked three shots even while seeing limited minutes because of foul trouble.

Dillon Bishoff: Even though South Sevier ultimately lost, Bishoff did everything in his power to help the Rams to reach the 2A title game. He scored 26 points and collected eight rebounds in the 62-59 loss to South Summit. Bishoff has averaged 21.3 points per game during the state tournament so far.

Tressa Lyman: The junior poured in 20 points and pulled down eight boards to lift Enterprise to a 42-26 victory over North Summit on Friday. In her last two games, Lyman is averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds — one reason why the Wolves pulled away so easily in the fourth quarter of both contests.

Judd and Trevor Rydalch: Like their fathers Craig and Mark before them, the two cousins are making the Rydalch name synonymous with basketball success in Kamas. Judd, as I mentioned earlier, had 14 points in the 62-59 victory over South Sevier. He also collected five rebounds and three steals. Including the game winning basket, Trevor finished with 12 points. He also hit his last four free throws down the stretch after missing his first six.

Parker Anderson: Another hero for South Summit. Anderson finished with 13 points — which included a pair of 3-pointers that gave the Wildcats their first lead of the fourth quarter. During the 2A tournament, Anderson has averaged 12.3 points per game — up substantially from his regular season average of 8.6 points per game.

Brittany Griffths: The Beaver point guard did a little bit of everything in her team’s 38-35 semifinal win over South Sevier. She had 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals and provided much of the initial spark that carried the Beavers on a 16-1 game-ending run that put them in the 2A title game tonight.

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Final note:

All four potential state champions in 2A will be breaking lengthy state title droughts.
As I mentioned earlier, neither South Summit or Waterford has ever won a 2A championship in boys basketball. The Ravens claimed the 1A title back in 2002 and the Wildcats earned a 1A title back in 1976. This would be the only the second title in the sport for both schools.
On the girl’s side, Beaver won five straight 2A titles earlier in the decade from 2001 to 2005. The Beavers have not won one since that time. Enterprise won its only 2A championship back in 1999, although the Wolves also claimed four 1A titles back in the 90s.

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