MORGAN -- Ben Lomond won its first game in Morgan in a dozen years and it couldn't have come at a better time for the Scots.
Trailing the Trojans by one game heading into Friday's contest, the Scots mounted a ferocious second-half comeback to top the Trojans 70-66 and put them into a tie for third place with just two games left in the regular season.
Early in the third quarter the Trojans went on a 10-1 run to give them a 40-26 lead. With about three minutes remaining in the period, Morgan still held a 13-point advantage. But the Scots, fueled by a devastating mid-court trap and a brilliant night from the free throw line, came all the way back -- finally tying the game at 57-57 with just under 2:30 left to play.
Down the stretch, the Scots kept the pressure on Morgan by hitting nearly all of their free throws, and they even survived an improbable four-point play by Morgan's Tad Sargent with just 7.7 second remaining in the game.
"Our kids are resilient," Scots coach Ryan Wilcox said. "I think our biggest loss this year is seven points, and I just knew that we would find a way to come back and at least make it a game. We got some momentum and it was like a snowball running downhill. You get down by 14 and it's real easy to cash in your chips. But "die" isn't in their vocabulary. They don't ever lay down."
Four Scots finished with double figures in scoring, led by Andy Hopson, who scored a game-high 18 points, and Keegan Border and Marco Perez, who contributed 16 apiece. Jared Jackson added 11 points, while Dalton Zundel finished with nine. The Scots scored 31 points in the fourth quarter and finished the game 26-of-31 from the free throw line. This after they went just 8-for-21 from the line in their last game.
"We shot about a hundred free throws apiece in our last practice," Wilcox said. "We made it a goal in our locker room that we're gonna come out and make all our free throws. Free throws win ball games, especially close ones like this."
Scott Clark scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds and four blocks for Morgan before fouling out with 2:44 left in the game. Braden Saunders added 13 points and Dallin Schenk finished with 12 for the Trojans.
* JUAN DIEGO 57, BEAR RIVER 39: At Garland, the Bears couldn't overcome a slow start on offense.
Logan Mortensen led the Soaring Eagle with 14 points. Bear River got nine points from Aaron Black. In the other league game, Judge Memorial topped Grantsville, 61-43.
Region 5
* BONNEVILLE 58, OGDEN 48: At Washington Terrace, the Lakers played perhaps their best game of league play, using a stifling man-to-man defense to stop the Tigers.
"We were executing offensively and strong defensively," Bonneville coach Jason Finder said.
Connor Stephens scored 20, 16 after halftime for the Lakers, who scored 24 in the final period. Boston Nelson added 11 and Jordan Tesch and Jaden Welch added nine apiece.
Finder credited Nelson and Thadius Galvez with strong defensive presence as well.
Jake Buck scored 14 to lead the Tigers; Nik Allred added 11, while Jake Lower chipped in with 10.
* SKY VIEW 57, BOX ELDER 40: At Smithfield, the Bees took care of business, behind Kyler Carlsen's 18 points.
Brant Mecham led Box Elder with 16 points, while Cody Eyre added 11. In the other league game, Mountain Crest defeated Logan 64-55.
Region 1
* LAYTON 54, ROY 36: At Roy, the Lancers won on the road, outscoring Roy 34-15 after halftime.
Joey Day scored 14 and Tyson Butler added a dozen for the Lancers. Andrew Acosta topped Roy with 11, while Cody Wimmer added nine.
Region 14
* LAYTON CHRISTIAN 61, ROWLAND HALL-ST. MARK'S 52: At Salt Lake City, Isaac Pedroza and Micah Shore scored 16 each to lead the Eagles (11-6 overall, 6-2 league).
Region 17
* ST. JOSEPH 58, CHRISTIAN HERITAGE 39: At Ogden, the Jayhawks won a physical contest to stay tied for the region lead.
Daniel Philpot scored 25 points for St. Joseph (9-8 overall, 5-1 league), while Pat Cozzi added 12. Joe Panushka dominated the paint with nine points, 16 rebounds and 14 blocked shots.
Preston Johnson paced the Crusaders (2-12, 2-4) with 16 points.
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