Boys basketball: Weber breaks open a battle to batter Bonneville in the 4th
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- Weber High’s Derik Bowden (2) follows through on a shot over Bonneville’s Davis Degroot (23) on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Ethan Sayer (5) tries to hold onto the ball as Bonneville’s Bryson Landis (33) and others swarm on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Pleasant View.
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- Bonneville High’s Davis Degroot, right, protects the ball against Weber’s Derik Bowden on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Derik Bowden, right, tries to drive past Bonneville’s Jackson Call on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Pleasant View.
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- Bonneville High’s Jackson Call (2) looks for a pass as Weber’s Thomas Packer (1) provides pressure on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Derik Bowden, left, battles Bonneville’s Davis Degroot for the basketball on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Beau Potokar hauls down the basketball in a game against Bonneville on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Thomas Packer (1) goes between his legs as Bonneville’s Cole Kennedy (10) defends on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Pleasant View.
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- Bonneville High’s Davis Degroot (23) tries to corral a loose ball against Weber’s Jake Stewart on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Ethan Sayer (5) gathers to shoot past Bonneville’s Bryson Landis (33) on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Pleasant View.
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- Bonneville High’s Bryson Landis (33) rises to shoot over Weber’s Ethan Sayer on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Pleasant View.
PLEASANT VIEW — In a Friday basketball game featuring two teams that hadn’t tasted victory this season, Weber added one to the win column while Bonneville is still searching for some solutions.
The Warriors broke open a tight tussle with a 29-point fourth quarter and battered Bonneville 62-45 in a non-region bout.
“It feels good; it feels great. We’ve worked hard in practice fixing our defense and definitely improved tonight in how we shared the ball,” Weber senior guard Derek Bowden said.
Weber (1-3) held a tenuous 33-30 lead after three quarters but opened the final frame on a 14-4 run, capped by a Bowden free throw midway through the period, making it 47-34 with 4:17 remaining.
Bowden scored 10 points in that 29-point fourth quarter, including six free throws down the stretch. He netted 19 points for the game with a 3-pointer and 8 of 10 from the charity stripe overall.
“I was trying to get to the rack, seeing what I could do with the ball; trying to tear them down, mostly,” Bowden said. “We were getting to the hoop, finding our guys and playing as a team.”
Bonneville coach Jake Lower was disappointed to see a close game get out of hand at the end.
“At that point, you’re playing from behind and we got away from our DNA and settled for some early shots. We didn’t play as a unit … trying to catch up in one shot rather than chipping at it,” Lower said. “When you get down, you try to pressure and when they break it, they get some easy ones and it balloons the lead.”
There were several other big runs prior to that fateful fourth quarter, as Weber led 21-9 at the 6:19 mark of the second stanza, on yet another Bowden free throw.
A senior captain, Bowden had a balanced game with nine points in the first half, then the fourth-quarter blitz.
“I can be streaky at times; the game of basketball … sometimes they go in and sometimes not,” Bowden said. “I felt like I needed to be a leader out there.”
The Lakers rallied and closed the quarter on a 10-point burst, keyed by five points from sophomore center Bryson Landis and senior forward Jackson Call’s three free throws.
“Coming back from 12 down … when we find opportunities for our best players in their best spots, it allows everything else to open up,” Lower said. “That gets us in a groove and we can score and play with a lot of people.”
Call finished the night with 19 points, including 7 of 11 from the line, and Landis added 13 for the Lakers.
Bonneville (0-4) chased the Warriors down to a 29-29 tie on a Call driving layup with 1:35 left in the third quarter.
Enter Weber junior guard Beau Potokar, who came off the bench and nailed a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left, following an Ethan Sayer free throw, and the Warriors were back on top 33-29.
Potokar splashed another trey early in the fourth quarter as part of the 14-4 run, giving Weber a 38-32 edge.
“The coaches didn’t have anything for me in the first half, but told me to keep my confidence; they had a play drawn up for me and I knew I could hit it,” Potokar said. “My teammates facilitated it and I was wide open.
“I trust coach (Landon) Cosby and what he plans. I’m going to do my role as a 3-point shooter, play defense and get rebounds,” Potokar said.
Weber won the fourth quarter 29-15, nearly matching its 33 points through the first three periods.
“We try to play a fast-paced brand of basketball and sometimes we run our players a little too long and our legs go out from under us,” Lower said. “When you miss shots, you play a lot of transition defense; it’s hard to play transition defense all night. You run out of gas.”
Thomas Packer also scored double digits for the Warriors with 12 points on a pair of 3-pointers. Carson Hill had nine points, including 4 of 4 from the free-throw line, and Potokar buried his two 3s over the decisive two-minute span of the second half.
