The 3A boys and girls basketball state tournaments are this week at Weber State University’s Dee Events Center from Thursday through Saturday.

Five area teams from Region 13 have advanced after two preliminary rounds and will play in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Here’s a game-by-game preview and schedule of Thursday’s games.

BOYS QUARTERFINALS

(6) Ben Lomond vs. (3) Grantsville, 9:30 a.m.

Both of the Scots’ regular-season losses to Grantsville were by single digits (65-56 and 48-41) in games they led at one point.

They get a third chance at the Cowboys at 9:30 a.m. Thursday to tip off the 3A quarterfinals.

“We’re ready for another shot, we gave them a good game both times…ultimately I feel like we play them pretty solid, and at the end of the day I trust my guys,” BL coach Tanoka Beard said.

BL (14-8) is strong inside with forwards Kekoa Beard and Jake East, and solid outside with Caleb Alexander, Preston Williams and Trenton Harris. The Scots particularly need to get to the foul line Thursday.

In the two regular-season games, Grantsville is 34 of 40 on free throws while Ben Lomond is 16 of 29. Tanoka Beard says the foul shooting has to get better, of course, but he’s happy with how the Scots have improved mentally.

“I think we’ve been very resilient, I think we’ve improved on our mental toughness, which is something that’s critical for us,” he said.

This is Ben Lomond’s best season since 2014-15 when the Scots went 15-10. Grantsville (16-6) is one of the better shooting teams in this tournament with marks of 47% from the floor, 38% from 3-point range and 75% at the foul line.

(1) Layton Christian vs. (8) Summit Academy

Layton Christian (17-7), the defending 2A state champs, showed it belongs in 3A this year by getting the No. 1 seed. There’s probably not a team more athletic or talented in the tournament than LCA.

The Eagles love to press and can score anywhere, anytime. Five players average 7.2 points per game or better, led by junior guard Tyrese Lacey (11.9 points, 5.0 assists) and junior forward Sammy Ishimwe (10.6 points, 3.3 rebounds).

LCA shoots 46% from the field, averages 64 points per game on offense and is particularly good in the second half.

Against Summit Academy (15-8), LCA will face a good defensive team (45.2 ppg) who plays a lot of slow, low-scoring games.

(5) Morgan vs. (4) Juan Diego

It’s simple for Morgan (15-7): keep Juan Diego Catholic under 60 points. The Trojans are 14-4 when holding their foes under the 60-point mark and 1-3 when opponents score 60 or more.

It’ll be tough to do against Juan Diego (17-6), which has an athletic and impactful sophomore post named Malick Diallo (18.3 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 58% shooting, 66% 2-point shooting) who will draw a lot of attention.

JD has won nine straight games and also hasn’t allowed a 3A opponent to hit the 60-point mark this year.

All indications point to a low-scoring game unless Morgan, which likes to shoot a lot of 3-pointers and play fast at times, gets hot.

The Trojans are led by senior guard Nixan Ordyna (15.2 ppg, 3.5 apg, 44% shooting, 37% 3-point shooting), junior guard Alex Fisher (11.5 ppg) and junior forward Josh Criddle (6.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 63% shooting).

GIRLS QUARTERFINALS

(5) Morgan vs. (4) Emery

This is a rematch of last year’s 3A title game, which Morgan (16-7) won, and a rematch of this year’s season opener, which Emery won.

In the season opener, Morgan committed 25 turnovers, had its two starting guards foul out and shot 14 free throws compared to 33 for Emery.

It was one of Morgan’s worst games of the year in those categories, but it can happen to the up-tempo Trojans, who play fast, love to press and are pretty good at both. They average 62.3 points per game on offense, 12.6 steals on defense and have won nine in a row.

Morgan can score from anywhere, whether it’s from guards Janel Blazzard (14.3 ppg, 4.7 apg, 3.3 spg) and Elena Birkeland (11.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg), or posts Alex Trussell (11.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Alyvia Jaffa (10.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.0 bpg).

Many current players for Morgan started or played on last year’s title-winning team, so there’s plenty of experience that could help in big moments.

Morgan is likely not the tournament favorite, owing to the No. 5 seed and the fact that 23-0 Judge Memorial (a possible semifinal opponent) is the No. 1 seed and led by Utah signee Teya Sidberry (34 ppg, 1.28 rpg, 5.0 spg).

First up, the Trojans face a senior-heavy Emery team that has played well defensively over the last six weeks. The Spartans shoot slightly better than Morgan (40% compared to 37%) and shoot a ton, so this game could turn into a track meet.

(6) Layton Christian vs. (3) Grantsville

The teams split the regular-season meetings, with Layton Christian (16-6) winning 77-61 and Grantsville (19-4) winning 60-52.

LCA has had a great year, even after moving up to 3A and breaking in a handful of new international players.

Junior guard Bianca Silva averages 16.6 points, 7.4 assists and 5.0 steals per game while shooting 52%.

Junior guard Ruzgar Christina Boyle averages 16.5 points per game on 53% shooting and senior Mia Jones averages a double-double of 10 points and 11.9 boards.

LCA doesn’t take many shots, but makes most of the ones it takes. LCA shoots 48% from the floor and 44% from 3-point range.

Outside shooting is one thing to watch (as with any state tournament in a college arena) as teams see the college 3-point line first on their way down the floor instead of the high school 3-point line.

Grantsville’s young team has only juniors and freshmen, according to MaxPreps.

The Cowboys have one of the top point guards in 3A, junior McKenzie Allen (21.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.5 apg, 5.3 spg), and the team has rarely been held below 60 points this year.

BOYS SCHEDULE

Thursday at Weber State University

9:30 a.m. — (6) Ben Lomond vs. (3) Grantsville

11:10 a.m. — (7) Manti vs. (18) American Leadership Academy

12:50 p.m. — (1) Layton Christian vs. (8) Summit Academy

2:30 p.m. — (5) Morgan vs. (4) Juan Diego

GIRLS SCHEDULE

Thursday at Weber State University

4:10 p.m. — (6) Layton Christian vs. (3) Grantsville

5:50 p.m. — (2) Richfield vs. (10) Union

7:30 p.m. — (1) Judge Memorial vs. (8) Carbon

9:10 p.m. — (5) Morgan vs. (4) Emery

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