Rich hits six treys as Tigers fall to Wasp
| BY DAVID CORDERO •
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• FEBRUARY 27, 2010
| OREM - Anderson Rich stood outside the locker room stoically, accepting sole blame for Hurricane's loss.
Sorry, Anderson. Losing your head in the final minute does not diminish your 21 points. That's what kept the Tigers in it.
Wasatch was just too good at everything for Hurricane Friday night in the semifinals of the 3A Boys State Tournament, winning 61-54 to earn a trip to the championship game against Judge.
The Tigers will play Emery for third place at 11:40 a.m.
"I feel like I lost the game for my team," Rich said.
Here's what happened: Rich drilled a 3-pointer in traffic Ð his sixth of the night Ð to cut the deficit to 52-49 with 41.7 seconds remaining. On the inbounds play, Rich tried for a steal but was whistled for his fifth foul.
He felt like he got all ball. The referee thought otherwise. Rich made a remark on his way to the bench and was issued a technical foul.
Wasatch made four consecutive free throws and kept the ball. The Tigers were never able to pull within two possessions the rest of the way.
"I was the one who lost it for us," Rich insisted, although Hurricane would have still been down five had he not been assessed a 'T.' "I lost my composure and it ended up losing the game for my teammates and coaches. I let everyone down."
Truth is, if not for Rich the Tigers would have been blown out. Hurricane led for only two brief stretches, never able to get forward Jaden Seely (seven points Ð five in the last eight seconds) involved in the offense. Instead it was timely 3-pointers by Rich that kept Hurricane within striking range.
Wasatch, however, played way too disciplined not to win.
Put it this way: It's tough to lose when you commit only two turnovers (none in the second half) and drain 28-of-31 free throws. Trevor Bamgartner, who notched 29 points in Thursday's win against Morgan, had 14 for the Wasps. He was only part of the attack.
McKay Murdock - Wasatch's best-kept secret, said Wasps coach Norm Hayter - had 19 points to lead the way, and fellow guard Mike Brown had 13.
Wasatch is ranked No. 1 in 3A by several Salt Lake media outlets for a reason.
"We put the ball in a lot of guys' hands," said Hayter, explaining how the Wasps were able to avoid turnovers so well. "It's something we focused on all year because those are scoring opportunities for the other team."
Hurricane had to fight, claw and scratch their way to buckets. Half of the Tigers' 18 field goals came from beyond the arc.
"It's hard to fight back when you're down, especially when they have good guards who can take over a game and do what they want," said Hurricane forward Tyler Hinton, who had eight points. "We fought hard. Our guards are just as good."
And they were as good as gone for most of the final minute.
Zach Sorenson (12 points), who drove and kicked to Rich for several of his treys, fouled out with 1:48 remaining. Point guard Jacob Pugh injured his shoulder with 1:08 left. Then there was Rich's exit.
"They're really disciplined," Rich said. "We turned the ball over a lot and they didn't. Ultimately, that's what helped them win."
Consolation bracket
DESERT HILLS 46, CEDAR 45: The Thunder escaped in a frenzied finish against the Reds.
A Kenny Grant driving layup Ð his second in two minutes Ð gave Cedar a 45-42 lead with 1:04 remaining. Tanner Atkin responded on the other end, drawing a foul and hitting a pair of free throws to pull Desert Hills to within one at 45-44.
On the ensuing possession, sophomore guard Brandon Simister stole the ball, sped downcourt and Ð with two Redmen draped on him Ð made a layup with 19 seconds left to grab the lead.
After a timeout, Cedar's Erik Nakken (10 points) tried a jumper in the lane and it rimmed out. He got his own rebound, but could only manage an off-balance, desperation try that was way off the mark.
Tanner Atkin led the Thunder (16-7) in scoring with 12 points. Maxx Pope added nine and Simister tallied eight.
Kyler Nielson chipped in 10 for Cedar (9-13), which saw its tournament come to an end. Trent Snow added eight points.
Desert Hills will play Morgan at 11:40 a.m. at UVU's Activity Center, for fifth place.
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