BY STEPHEN VINCENT • FOR THE SPECTRUM & DAILY NEWS • FEBRUARY 21, 2010
| HURRICANE - Hurricane didn't want to waste any time Saturday night.
"This is our senior year; this is the time to get things done," Sorenson said. "We told ourselves to come out fast, come out quick and have no regrets."
Hurricane center Tyler Hinton opened Saturday's game in the first round of the 3A boys basketball state playoffs with a bucket. Tiger guard Zach Sorenson followed shortly thereafter with a 3-pointer for a quick 5-0 Tiger lead.
The two plays established a pattern as Hurricane worked inside-out effectively all night to easily dispatch Union, 69-48.
Sorenson and Hinton combined for all 15 of the Tigers points in the first quarter as they built an eight-point lead. The Tigers steadily added to it from there. Jaden Seely, Hurricane's other post, struck for seven points in the second quarter as the Tigers' lead swelled to 30-15 at the break.
"I've seen a lot of post players in 3A; athletically and physically, they're up there with the best posts," Sorenson said. "They create a lot of mismatches."
Hinton said last season's team wasn't very strong in the post.
"Last year in the playoffs we didn't have an inside game, and that cost us," he said. "As long as we are able to go inside-out this year, we'll go a long way."
Hurricane committed just three first-half turnovers on Friday and limited the Union sharpshooters to 10 field goals for the contest.
"We haven't been struggling with ballhandling much this year, but Anderson (Rich, the Tigers' point guard) and I talked before the game about taking better care of the ball, and that was an emphasis for this game," Sorenson said.
Nine Tigers scored in the third quarter, as Hurricane broke the game wide open. From there, the only drama was whether the Tigers would double up the Cougars. The Tigers led 64-31 with four minute left, but Union's starters outscored the Tiger reserves 18-5 the rest of the way.
The Tigers will play nemesis Juan Diego at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at Utah Valley University in the quarterfinals.
"It's the playoffs, so we'd be playing our best no matter who we played," Sorenson said. "But because it's Juan Diego, we'll give our best and a little more."
Hurricane coach Gordon Dotson said the early-morning start is a cause for concern, but the Tigers football team won a state semifinal game in football earlier this year that also had a morning start.
"We'll see whether that affects us or not," Dotson said. "It has to start with defense for us. It has to be everyone working together as a team and not as individuals."
CEDAR 52, PARK CITY 49: Brandon Garrett had 19 points and Erik Nakken hit two free throws with eight seconds left that gave the Reds the crucial breathing room they needed to hold on for the road win. The Miners missed a final 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have tied the game and forced overtime.
Cedar (9-11) was clutch from the free-throw line throughout, hitting 19 of its 22 attempts (86.4 percent), while Park City was just 9-of-15. Neither side led by more than five points.
"It turned into a Region 9 game, a close, hard-fought contest. It was no different than going to Canyon View, Dixie, Snow Canyon, any of the schools," Reds coach Craig Cardon said.
Cedar will face Emery in the quarterfinals Thursday in a 12:50 p.m. tipoff at the UVU Events Center in Orem.
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