OGDEN — Something must have been going down Saturday afternoon at Ben Lomond High School because the parking lot was full of cars on a weekend.

Turns out there was, and it was a big event on the court: Ben Lomond vs. Ogden boys basketball, Act III.

The two teams split the season series and were now taking center stage in the second round of the 3A state playoffs.

And the game couldn’t disappoint because the winner would exorcize a long-standing demon: Ben Lomond had not won a playoff game since 2013 and Ogden’s drought was thought to go back to 1999.

In a huge rivalry matchup between the two city schools, Ben Lomond prevailed 48-43 over Ogden in a back-and-forth bout that sends the Scots to the quarterfinals at Weber State’s Dee Events Center at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 24.

Scoring shows up in the newspaper, but it was two offensive fouls the Scots drew on defense in the final 4:49 that tilted the game their way.

Tied at 41, Ogden’s Jace Oliverson drove the middle and made a layup, but it was wiped away when Ben Lomond’s Marcus Royster filled the lane and drew a charge for the resulting turnover.

Royster was in as a sub, scored zero points in the game, but made the play the Scots had to have.

At Ben Lomond’s end of the floor, the sequence went block, steal, block, steal and foul, with senior Kekoa Beard ending up on the free-throw line.

Beard made one of two and the Scots had the lead for good at 42-41 with 3:49 to play.

“I’m thinking all I’ve got to do is knock down and if I knock down, we’ll be up and win the game,” Beard said.

Ben Lomond got the ball back and Trenton Harris nailed a 3-pointer–his only points of the game–and the Scots were up 45-41 at the 2:57 mark.

Ogden’s 7-foot center Landen Smith made it 45-43 with 2:20 remaining, followed by another disjointed sequence that went 10-second call, block, turnover, foul, foul.

Preston Williams drained a pair of free throws with 23.2 seconds left for a 47-43 edge and then Beard drew the second key offensive foul on Ogden’s next possession for the turnover and Williams made one of two with 18.4 seconds left to seal the deal.

“The offensive fouls, those were crucial because we weren’t up by that much so when we were able to get them, it changed the whole mood or shifted the whole game to our side and we were able to pull out the game,” Beard said. “I take pride in our defense; when we’re aggressive on defense it helps our offense.”

Beard finished with 21 points and Williams added 11, including 5 of 6 from the free-throw line all in the fourth quarter.

The No. 11 seeded Tigers (9-13) got off to a fast start, leading 10-2 and holding No. 6 Ben Lomond (14-8) without a field goal four minutes in. Alex Howard scored their first six and Smith scored five in the period as Ogden led 13-10 after one.

But Ben Lomond was starting to find its way, as Beard got a two at the end of the quarter and the Scots went on a 13-0 run, lasting midway through the second stanza. Beard had the first six points of the run and senior Chauncey Whitty the next four.

“We were rushing ourselves and not moving the ball around, but then we ended up playing better,” Beard said. “I expect that from our seniors and captains, to be able to lead the team and have the confidence to make good plays.”

Ben Lomond led 23-19 at the half, but Ogden rallied to a 35-34 lead after three quarters, fueled by a pair of 3’s by Khol Gill.

The lead changed hands three times in the first minute of the fourth and the game wound down to 4:49, tied at 41 when the offensive foul call sent the noise and excitement level through the roof.

“It’s great for everybody involved. A lot of Ogden people came together today, through two schools to celebrate some great kids that play for two teams. Somebody has to lose; unfortunately, it was us today,” Ogden coach Brock Randall said. “It’s heartbreaking. We had in our mind a goal, one of them was getting past today and it just didn’t happen. It wasn’t from a lack of effort by our fine young men.”

Randall did not criticize the offensive foul calls.

“It was a tough situation. We have 10 players on the floor, three officials and two coaching staffs doing everything they possibly can. Our officiating crew are professionals, out there to do their very best job as well. These things happen, but it was a big momentum swing.”

Smith paced the Tigers with 17 points and a truckload of blocks, and Howard checked in with 10 points.

MORGAN 57, CANYON VIEW 48

MORGAN — No. 5 Morgan shot 8 of 14 from the foul line in the fourth quarter — missing twice on the front end of bonus one-and-one trips — but held off No. 12 Canyon View (11-13) for a 3A second-round playoff win.

“Eight of 14? That’s not too good, but it was good enough,” Morgan coach Brad Matthews said. “Canyon View is known for their pressure defense and the team handled their pressure very well. They did a good job of playing the way we wanted them to.”

Morgan matched Canyon View’s defensive pressure early, forcing three consecutive turnovers on the first three possessions of the game and holding the Falcons to six points in the first quarter. The Trojans took a 29-16 lead into the halftime break.

Alex Fisher scored 17 points to lead Morgan (15-7) and Nixan Ordyna added 16, with both making two 3-pointers. The pair combined to shoot 13 of 15 from the charity stripe, with each miss in the final frame. The Trojans converted 17 of 24 free throws in the contest. Josh Criddle added nine points.

Morgan advances to the 3A quarterfinals Thursday, Feb. 24, at Weber State, where they will face No. 4 Juan Diego at 2:30 p.m.

“Juan Diego was picked No. 1 in the preseason,” Matthews said, “and they have one of the best players in the state. It’ll be a tough game.”

LAYTON CHRISTIAN 84, EMERY 53

LAYTON — No. 1 Layton Christian Academy led 16-14 after one quarter, then used a 22-8 advantage in the second quarter to take control in a 3A second-round win over No. 17 Emery (7-15).

Tyrese Lacey led all scorers with 17 points and three 3-pointers for LCA (17-7). Isaac Cubero added 16 points and four treys. Souleymane Barro tallied 12 points and Timmie Olubisi scored nine.

LCA advances to face No. 8 Summit Academy in the quarterfinals at 12:50 p.m Thursday, Feb. 24, at Weber State.

SWIMMING

SYRACUSE SWIMMER WINS TITLE

PROVO — At Saturday’s 6A swimming state championship meet at BYU, Syracuse High senior Kanyon Page won the boys 100 yard freestyle race with a time of 46.99 seconds, which was 1.57 seconds faster than second place.

Page also went third in the 100 backstroke and helped Syracuse’s 400 freestyle relay team (comprising Page, Sawyer Portillo, Soren Portillo and Gavin Voshell) finish second as the Titans took fifth as a team overall.

Kalia Merrill from Davis finished second second in the girls 100 backstroke in 1:00.21, helping the Davis High girls team finish fifth.

Justin Johnson and Patrick Carr contributed to score reports.

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