PLEASANT VIEW — On the night Weber High honored its last state basketball championship team, the 1971 Warriors, the 2013 version looked every bit as impressive Friday night by steamrolling past Fremont 57-31 inside the gym that bears the name of the coach that led the Warriors to the state title, Richard Connolly.
“There were a lot of nerves at the beginning,” said Weber coach Mark Larsen. “I think our kids wanted to honor the class of ’71, but there was some nervous energy to start.”
Both squads came out as frigid as the temperature outside as the Warriors struggled to a low-scoring 7-4 advantage. Weber, however, warmed up in the second period with a 21-9 outburst that gave it a comfortable 28-13 cushion at the half. The Warriors, who drilled nine 3-pointers on the night, buried five in the second quarter led by Mason Miles who nailed a pair.
Weber’s defense also helped contribute to its second quarter surge by forcing 13 turnovers by the half. Fremont ended up turning the ball over 20 times on the night.
“We really picked up our intensity in the second quarter. We got a lot of deflections and turnovers. Being aggressive and forcing turnovers is something we work on,” said Larsen.
Miles continued his hot-shooting with three more bombs in the third quarter that helped Weber take a 51-24 lead into the final frame.
“We got a lot of steals that led to open shots,” said Miles. “I thought we did a real good job of hitting the open man.”
Whether this year’s Weber squad can repeat the effort of the ’71 team remains to be seen, but a 12-1 start to the season, including Friday night’s Region 1 opener, does give the Warriors faithful something to hope for.
“I don’t know if you’re ever totally pleased with where you are, but our last two games have been our best. But there’s still a long ways to go,” said Larsen.
Hayden Schenck, who leads the Warriors in virtually every offensive category, scored a game high 18 points to go along with seven assists and six steals. Miles finished with 15, all coming from beyond the arc. Jordan Jones hauled in eight rebounds for Weber and scored eight points, two on thunderous dunks.
Kade Criswell paced the Silver Wolves with 10 points, and Landon Scott chipped in with eight.
Region 5
• ROY 58, BOX ELDER 58: At Roy, the teams battled to the final buzzer, with David Hadley’s layup in the final seconds the margin of victory for the Royals on their home court.
The Bees led 30-26 at halftime, but Roy closed the gap quickly and it stayed close to the end. Brekkott Chapman scored 28 points for the Royals. Jesse Wayment adde eight points; Hadley and Jaden Jackson finished with six apiece.
Box Elder’s Shad Watson led his team with 16 points in the loss. Jarom Mecham added 11 points, Tyler Bate had 10 and Darius McFarland added eight points.
• SKY VIEW 73, BONNEVILLE 53: At Washington Terrace, the Lakers played a strong first half, but a passive effort in the third quarter doomed them in the league opener.
Jalen Moore scored 29 points and Ty Nielsen added 14 for the Bobcats, who blitzed the home team 23-7 in the pivotal third period.
Selaun Erskin scored 14 points for the Lakers, while Jace Packard, Mason Rich and Wilson Atagi each added eight points.
• MOUNTAIN CREST 64, LOGAN 51: At Hyrum, Tanner Knowles scored 20 points to pace the Mustangs to an easy win over the Grizzlies.
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