As good as the regular season was for the Titans, it's time to start over.
When the Syracuse High School girls basketball team takes to the court tonight against Alta in the opening round of the state 5-A girls basketball tournament, it's a one-game season for the 21-0 Titans.
"We're excited for state," Syracuse junior guard Kiana Fonua said. "I think we're ready for it. I think (going undefeated in the regular season) was a huge accomplishment for us; now we need to focus on state and doing well there."
This year's bracketing didn't do the Titans any favors, despite getting the opportunity to play the Hawks at home. Alta is Region 4's fifth seed after going 6-6 in what is widely considered the state's best league. The Hawks went 9-1 in non-league action, including a 21-point win over Layton and a 14-point win over Fremont in preseason action.
Should the Titans get past the Hawks, they'll face either 18-win Brighton or 18-win Riverton in Wednesday's quarterfinal round at Salt Lake Community College's Lifetime Activities Center at 2:15 p.m., just a 17-hour turnaround.
Clearfield and Fremont both finished the second half of Region 1 play in top form, finishing tied for second place at 11-5. The Falcons went 7-1 in the second go-round, losing only to Syracuse. The Silver Wolves went 6-2, falling to the Falcons by one on the road and to the Titans.
Clearfield (12-8) heads into the tournament on a three-game winning streak and will host Hunter tonight at 7 p.m. after winning a coin toss with Fremont for the No. 2 seed.
Fremont (13-8), which hasn't played since Feb. 12, takes a five-game winning streak into tonight's 7 p.m. road meeting with Murray.
"Our defense over the second half of the season was the difference," Fremont senior guard LaChere Earl said. "We feel like we're playing our best going into the tournament; we're peaking at the right time."
Weber (11-10) is Region 1's No. 4 seed after a final-day upset loss to Northridge. The Warriors will travel to Region 2 champion Skyline tonight.
The two teams met in preseason action, with Skyline winning 33-30.
Roy (12-10) enters tonight's game against Region 4 champion American Fork on a four-game winning streak after shredding Kearns 53-37 during a state 5-A crossover game on Saturday. The Royals have been inconsistent at times this season, but have been playing their best basketball down the stretch. The Royals only losses in their final seven games were by two to Layton and by three to Fremont.
The 4-A tournament also gets underway tonight, with Region 5 champion Mountain Crest hosting Salem Hills and league runner-up Sky View hosting Highland.
The 2-A boys and girls tournaments return to action on Thursday at the Sevier Valley Center, with both Layton Christian Academy teams set to face South Sevier. The boys will play at 12:45 p.m., with the girls set to tip off at 7:30 p.m.
Morgan High's boys basketball team, the sole local survivor of first-round 3-A action, will face Wasatch at 11:15 a.m. at Utah Valley University. The teams met in the preseason with the Wasps escaping Morgan with one-point win after the Trojans missed a layup at the buzzer.
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