LAYTON -- A huge third quarter was all the Alta Hawks needed to pick up their first preseason win 63-44 against the Northridge Knights on Friday night.
"We sped things up on our transitions in the second half," head coach Jim Barker said. "We had such a big height advantage that I knew if we played solid we would be o.k."
The Hawks made the trip to Layton coming off a 59-52 defeat at the hands of Davis earlier in the week, while Northridge suffered a heartbreaker to Kearns on Dec. 1, losing 47-44 after Kearns trailed by 13 at the half.
Despite Alta's significant height advantage, the two teams were evenly matched through the first half with Alta leading 32-26 going into the half.
Early into the third quarter however, it seemed that Northridge had left their defense in the locker room, as Alta went on a 13-point run against a non-existent Knight opposition.
The disappointing performance continued on offense as well as the Knights went 3-of-12 in the third period, missing the first seven straight.
Alta's defense on the other hand came out with a vengeance in the second half, stonewalling Northridge's offense, outrebounding the Knights 30-18 overall, and generating several points on fast breaks.
Senior guard Jordan Brown contributed 10 points in the second half alone, 18 overall and led an Alta offense that had been lackluster in the opening periods.
Senior forward Kyle Davis led the Hawks scoring with 20 points, including a three-pointer and an impressive standing dunk early in the game from a Brown feed inside.
"The first half we went their pace," Barker said. "In the second half we finally got the group to settle down and we got what we wanted."
* LAYTON CHRISTIAN 74, BEAVER 38: At Richfield, the Eagles dusted the Beavers at the 2-A/3-A Preseason Preview in the Sevier Valley Center.
Isaac Pedroza scored a game-high 15 points for Layton Christian. Henry Werseclain had 12 points, Micah Shore scored 11 and Colin Greenhill finished with 10 points for the Eagles (1-0).
* MORGAN 63, CANYON VIEW 43: At Richfield, the Trojans soared past the Falcons for their first season victory, snapping a two-game slide, at the 2-A/3-A Preseason Preview in the Sevier Valley Center.
Braden Saunders splashed in a game-high 17 points with three of Morgan's five 3-pointers. Casey Evans tossed in 13 points for the Trojans (1-2).
* BEN LOMOND 49, AMERICAN LEADERSHIP 45: At Ben Lomond High, the Scots placed three players in double figures in slipping past the Eagles at the Pepsi Classic.
Dalton Zundel splashed in a game-high 17 points and Keegan Border had 13. Marco Perez 10 added 10 points for undefeated Ben Lomond (3-0).
In the other Pepsi Classic game, South Summit spanked Park City 68-53.
* BONNEVILLE 59, ROY 41: At Roy, the Lakers had four players in double figures in an 18-point runaway over the former league rival Royals.
Jordan Tesch tossed in 14 points, Josue Rivera and Connor Stephens each had 11 and Thadius Galvez added 10 points for Bonneville (1-2), which snapped a two-game slide.
Bubba Blau had 12 points and Dallas Wilde wound up with 10 for the winless Royals (0-3).
* LAYTON 71, WOODS CROSS 68 (OT): At Woods Cross, four Lancers reached double-figures scoring in giving first-year coach Kelby Miller his first victory as Layton's new head coach.
Rees Checketts scored a team-high 16 points and Brandon Kida added for the Lancers (1-1). Taylor Butler finished with 11 points and Brock Maestas had 10 for Layton.
The Wildcats' Ryan Anderson drained a 3-pointer to force overtime. He splashed in a game-high 27 points with three of Woods Cross' seven 3-pointers.
* DAVIS 66, JORDAN 56: At Sandy, the Darts' Taylor Webb scored a game-high 18 points with three 3-pointers and Josh Van Weezep had 16 points with four 3s.
Kyle Smith added 11 points and two 3-pointers for undefeated Davis (2-0), which knocked down 10 3s.
* OLYMPUS 50, BOX ELDER 36: At Salt Lake City, the Bees got outscored 21-2 in the fourth quarter.
Cody Eyre led Box Elder (1-1) with 13 points.
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