Bear River High School

OGDEN — Da Bears had lost three of four — all non-league games — coming into Wednesday’s Region 11 road game versus one-win Ben Lomond.

OGDEN – The story is well-chronicled. Back in 1974, Jim Wiscombe, senior guard for the Morgan boys basketball team, led the Trojans to its first and only state championship. The team, under the tutelage of coaching legend Ron Abegglen, went undefeated and Wiscombe was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Eventually Wiscombe returned to Morgan as its head coach. Since then, he has worked hard to bring another championship to the school.

He’s been extremely successful, with a number of region titles and state tournament appearances under his belt. But a championship has eluded him. Two years ago, the Trojans came close to winning it all, reaching the championship game against Wasatch. But the Wasps were too strong that night and Wiscombe and the Trojans were forced to continue waiting.

Well, the 39-year wait is finally over. With a remarkable 58-44 win over their fiercest rival, Bear River, the Trojans have once again reached the pinnacle of basketball, capturing the state 3-A title on a snowy Saturday night at the Dee Events Center in front of a huge throng of supporters.

OGDEN — After Bear River’s win over Judge Memorial in the 3-A quarterfinals on Thursday, leading scorer Wade “Bubba” Miller said he felt his team was peaking at just the right time. It’s hard to imagine the Bears peaking any more than they did Friday night in the 3-A semifinals.

An early 3-point barrage led by Miller gave the Bears a big first half lead and propelled them to a very impressive 83-55 win over favored Snow Canyon and a date in Saturday’s championship game at the Dee Events Center.

OGDEN – It’s one of the hardest games to play in the 3-A tournament. First you lose in the quarterfinal round, ending your hopes of a state championship. Then you have to come back and play the first game of the day in the consolation bracket.

But the Bear River Bears overcame that challenge, knocking Carbon out of the tournament with a 56-48 win on Friday morning at the Dee Events Center. The win gives the Bears one more day to fight, this time with fifth place on the line.

OGDEN – Putting a number of close region losses behind them, the Bear River Bears pulled out a narrow win over Judge Memorial on Thursday to advance to the 3-A state semifinals against Snow Canyon.

The Bears twice lost by one point to Morgan. In January, they lost to Ben Lomond in double overtime and two days later fell to Ogden in triple overtime. But against Judge, the Bears broke a late 59-59 tie and then held off the Bulldogs down the stretch.

OGDEN — It will be a short crosstown trip for the Scots next week.