OGDEN -- The Ogden Tigers came into Wednesday night's game having alternated wins and losses in their past seven games.
The Tigers broke that string, beating the cross-town-rival Bonneville Lakers 55-44 and picking up their second consecutive victory in Region 5 play.
"The key was we defended well in our zone and we rebounded well," said Ogden head coach Jace McKee.
After battling in a dead-even first quarter, the Tigers won the second quarter 19-6 behind a solid effort off the bench from Nathan Kapple and Kyler Campbell. Ogden's Eric Porter led all scorers with 11 first-half points.
In the second half, OHS continued to hold a comfortable lead until the Lakers provided some late drama. Jaden Welsh buried one of his five 3-pointers with 2:00 left in the game to cut the OHS lead to six.
Tiger point guard Jake Buck sealed the Tiger victory after that, nearly singlehandedly, as he made seven of eight free throws in the final 1:58. OHS was 13-15 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
The OHS gym got pretty loud during the final few minutes.
"It was packed tonight," Porter said. "The crowd made a big difference for us down the stretch."
Porter and Buck each finished with 14 points to lead the Tigers. Welsh finished with a game-high 19 points for the Lakers.
The Tigers sit in the middle of Region 5 with a 3-2 conference record, owning a 6-1 home record.
"It's nice to have a winning streak," McKee said. "It's got to give you confidence, and you can't underestimate confidence."
* SKY VIEW 53, BOX ELDER 48: At Brigham City, the Bees will be talking about three late turnovers that handed the game to the Bobcats.
Box Elder led by a point in the final two minutes, but had a couple of shots rim out to go with their miscues.
"We'll keep battling," Box Elder coach Keith Mechams said. "It was our carelessness that cost us."
Brant Mechams scored 15 and Chad Talbot added 11 for the Bees.
Kyler Carlsen led Sky View with 20.
In the other Region 5 game, Brad Stewart scored 26 points to lead Mountain Crest past Logan 55-46.
Region 11
* JUDGE MEMORIAL 50, BEN LOMOND 45: At Salt Lake City, the Scots jumped out to a 9-2 lead but then fell behind 23-13 after the first quarter. They spent the rest of the game trying to catch the Bulldogs, but could never quite draw even.
Keegan Border finished with 25 points to top the Scots, while Andy Hopson added eight.
Zach Myaer topped Judge with 17 points.
* JUAN DIEGO 46, MORGAN 39: At Draper, the Eagles shut down the Trojans offense and held on in the defensive battle.
Josh Harrison topped Juan Diego with 14 points. Casey Evans and Jared Brooks tallied eight points each for Morgan.
* GRANTSVILLE 50, BEAR RIVER 45: At Grantsville, the Bears keep plugging away but came up five points short vs. the Cowboys.
Nine Bear River players scored, led by Cade Capener with eight.
Morgan Heslpeh and Logan Mortensen scored 13 each for the Cowboys.
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