3A quarterfinals: Ben Lomond boys basketball knocked out after Grantsville comeback
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- Ben Lomond’s Preston Williams shoots a layup during the 3A boys basketball state quarterfinals against Grantsville on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, at Weber State University.
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- Ben Lomond High basketball players react after losing to Grantsville in the 3A boys basketball state quarterfinals Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, at Weber State University.
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- Ben Lomond High basketball players and coach Tanoka Beard talk before the Scots’ 3A state quarterfinal game against Grantsville on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, at Weber State University.
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- Ben Lomond’s Kekoa Beard takes a shot during the 3A state quarterfinals against Grantsville on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, at Weber State University.
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- Ben Lomond High students cheer during the 3A boys basketball state tournament on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, at Weber State University.
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- Ben Lomond’s Caleb Alexander dribbles the ball during the 3A state quarterfinals against Grantsville on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, at Weber State University.
OGDEN — Ben Lomond was so close to a berth in the 3A boys basketball state semifinals.
The No. 6 Scots played the exact type of low-scoring game they needed in order to beat No. 3 Grantsville on Thursday morning.
Instead, the consolation bracket beckons. Grantsville’s Carter Killian made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left to give the Cowboys a 35-34 lead and Ben Lomond’s shot at the buzzer fell short, so ending the Scots’ playoff run at Weber State University’s Dee Events Center.
The Scots (14-9) led by as many as seven points in the second half before turnovers, bad shots and a couple of poorly timed misses at the free-throw line crept in. Otherwise, they held a Grantsville team averaging 63 points per game to just 35 and they held the Cowboys off the third-quarter scoreboard for nearly 7 minutes.
“They’re hurt. They’re really beat down because they worked their butts off for everything,” Ben Lomond coach Tanoka Beard said. “They bought in, and they did everything we asked them to do only to have this happen in front of everybody. We’ll live with it.”
Befitting of the 69 total points in the game, neither team shot the ball well, which is somewhat customary for state-tournament openers at college arenas. Ben Lomond shot 34.4% from the field and Grantsville was 32.4%
Both teams made their free throws at a good rate. Grantsville shot 9 of 10 and Ben Lomond went 8 of 11, though one of the misses was the front end of a one-and-one opportunity with a one-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Most of Beard’s comments after the game centered around the officiating, particularly a call on a 3-point attempt that gave GHS three foul shots.
Senior forward Kekoa Beard led the Scots with nine points and eight rebounds. Preston Williams scored eight points.
For a quarter, at least, it looked like Ben Lomond would pull off the win. The Scots trailed 19-14 at halftime but started the third quarter playing a 2-3 zone that effectively put a lid on Grantsville’s basket.
Playing zone defense also helped save the Scots’ legs, which was particularly crucial in a game where four of the five starters played 26-plus minutes.
A fast-break basket by Caleb Alexander with 2:14 left in the third quarter gave Ben Lomond its first lead of the game, 21-19. The Scots didn’t allow a third-quarter Grantsville bucket until the 1:05 mark and led 26-21 going to the fourth quarter.
Their lead got as high as seven points, but no higher. Ben Lomond played the type of game it had to play to beat Grantsville: low-scoring. When the Cowboys had previously been held under 50 points in a game this season, their record was 1-4 (now it’s 2-4).
“Beating a team three times is hard, it’s really hard. We got up and then got complacent a little bit,” GHS coach Nate Austin said.
Austin also added that the team that loses both regular-season meetings can be at an advantage because it has more things to improve upon, whereas the team that won both meetings may not necessarily have as many tangible things to get better at.
The Scots will now play in the fifth-place bracket, with their first consolation game taking place at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Weber State. Grantsville will face No. 7 Manti in the semifinals at 9:10 p.m. Friday.