Boys basketball: Checketts’ season-high 19 points bumps Layton over Syracuse in region opener
Karter Miller leads floor with 22 points; Carter Robinson leads Titans with 21
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- Syracuse junior Carter Robinson, left, challenges the shot of Layton senior Joshua Checketts on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Layton.
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- Layton senior Jonah Fullmer, center left, twists around Syracuse senior Bradlee Trejo, center right, during a game Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Layton.
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- Syracuse senior Hudson Hess (1) drops back for a shot during a game at Layton on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Layton.
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- Layton head boys basketball coach Kelby Miller, center, watches from the sideline during a home game against Syracuse on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Layton.
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- Syracuse head boys basketball coach Greg Godderidge pleads his case with an official during a game at Layton on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Layton.
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- Layton senior Joshua Checketts looks for a call during a home game against Syracuse on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Layton.
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- Layton senior Jonah Fullmer, left, defends Syracuse junior Beckam Rees (3) during a game Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Layton.
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- Syracuse junior Hudson Hess (2) drives past Layton senior Jonah Fullmer, right, during a road game Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Layton.
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- Syracuse junior Carter Robinson (24) fights around Layton senior Joshua Checketts (33) during a game Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Layton.
LAYTON — Twelve free throws made the difference in Layton High boys basketball’s late, 76-66 escape from Syracuse during a Friday-night feature tipping off the region schedule.
Both squads listed three or more names in double-digit scoring, but the Lancers (11-3, 1-0 Region 1) closed the fourth quarter 8 of 10 from the stripe. Half of those free throws belonged to junior Jack Godderidge, nephew of first-year Syracuse head coach Greg Godderidge.
Make no mistake, the Lancers were firing on all cylinders.
Sophomore Karter Miller produced a floor-high 22 points and senior Joshua Checketts’ season-high 19 points were a nice touch, to say the least, on a night when the Titans (7-7, 0-1) never faded from the picture.
Still, Checketts knows where Friday’s win came from: the stripe.
“It’s what makes games right?,” Checketts said. “If we don’t hit free throws, we lose that game.”
Checketts hardly dodged his teammates’ showering congratulations long enough to provide his final postgame comments. The 6-foot-8 senior center made it known Layton had this game circled, well aware of Syracuse’s turnaround behind Godderidge.
“We just wanted to come out and make a statement,” Checketts said. “Especially with that being Jack’s uncle, that added a little bit of pride to it. We just wanted to come out, get these guys and get started. … They were able to shut down our inside game and then we weren’t able to hit from outside in the third quarter but we pulled away in the end.”
Syracuse junior big Carter Robinson (21 points) fell one digit shy of Miller’s game-high and the Titans received well-rounded support all night long. Sophomore Colton Hoenigman scored 11 points; senior Bradlee Trejo and junior Skyler Orton each added 10.
The Titans had the first say on the scoreboard and trailed by just a possession at the end of the first quarter. Things grew testy in the second quarter with a goal-tending foul against Orton and a technical foul issued to Greg Godderidge, forcing his team to regroup down 12 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Syracuse scrounged up several loose balls and converted those chances in big ways. One such takeaway saw a Miller foul set Robinson up for an and-one bucket, bringing the Lancers’ lead down to just four points with three minutes to go.
Greg Godderidge praised his group’s creativity in transition, something the Titans have put at the forefront of their daily practices.
“You saw the ball moving tonight,” Godderidge said. “We’ve really been coaching our guys on filling the lanes. I thought we did a good job of that and transition steals to the other side.”
Hoenigman later made it 53-all, tied for the first time since the first quarter, as the third-quarter clock dipped below a minute. But Miller responded quickly with his second 3-pointer of the half to keep Layton out front come the fourth quarter.
Checketts grabbed two easy buckets at the top of the fourth as the Lancers clung to an eight-point advantage. Layton stayed one step ahead of the Titans’ defense down the stretch, even with another costly foul charged to Miller.
A Robinson 3-point bucket made it a two-possession ballgame for the Titans, who burned a timeout with 39 seconds to go. Forced to foul, Syracuse watched a hodge podge of Lancers put a hard-fought battle away at the charity stripe.
Looking ahead, Greg Godderidge said Syracuse should feel nothing but optimism about their ability to compete with the best, now including Kelby Miller’s Layton team.
“My boys should have confidence going into the next one,” Greg Godderidge said. “I thought we played hard. Obviously, Checketts having a career night against us isn’t expected but our guys played hard. We played to our game plan and the guys did everything we asked.”
Layton hosts Davis on Tuesday, Jan. 14 (7 p.m.); Syracuse travels to Weber (7 p.m.).
BOX SCORE
Syracuse 15 13 25 13 — 66
Layton 17 23 16 20 — 76
SHS (66): Robinson 21, Hoenigman 11, Trejo 10, Orton 10, Rees 8, Hess 6.
LHS (76): K. Miller 22, Checketts 19, J. Godderidge 10, Fullmer 9, Anderson 6, Romer 5, Randall 5.
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker
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