‘Juiced’: Ogden boys track down Juab in long-awaited return to hardwood
Tigers navigating player's loss as nonregion schedule tips off
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- Ogden’s Tayson Porter takes off on a fast break during a non-region boys basketball contest vs. Juab on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Ogden.
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- Juab’s Tayson Baker, left, comes down the floor toward Ogden’s Kai Rodriguez during a non-region boys basketball contest vs. Juab on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Ogden.
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- Ogden’s Blake Weston drives past Juab’s Trevin Park during a non-region boys basketball contest vs. Juab on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Ogden.
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- Ogden’s Jackson Maw battles through Juab’s Madix Stowell, left, and Landon Hooper, right, during a non-region boys basketball contest vs. Juab on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Ogden.
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- Ogden huddles together during a non-region boys basketball contest vs. Juab on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Ogden.
OGDEN — Just one game in, Ogden High boys basketball looks faster and stronger.
The Tigers tipped off the season biting the heels of Juab right down to the fourth quarter for a 58-51, statement win in their home opener Wednesday night on Phil Russell Court.
Senior big Jackson Maw led Ogden (1-0) with 21 game-high points, including five separate trips to the free-throw line in the second half. Fellow senior Peter Archibald hopped off the bench for nine points, including two critical 3-point buckets down the stretch with less than 5 minutes to play.
Archibald’s debut comes roughly a week his father, Alan, lost his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as “ALS,” and died Saturday, Nov. 15. Alan was especially involved with Ogden’s basketball program and wasn’t shy about hitting road games, Ogden coach Trent Porter said.
“We’ve had a rough ride these last couple of weeks,” Porter said. “I’d noticed these last couple of fall games we played down at Olympus that I didn’t see (Alan) as much… Last Saturday I got a phone call that his dad passed away, and (Peter) was gone a couple of days — rightfully so, spending time with his family. For a teenage boy to have to go through that, I thought he showed a really great maturity tonight.”
Ogden has now defeated the Wasps in consecutive regular-season openers, following last year’s 64-56 road win in Nephi. On Wednesday, Juab senior guard Tyson Baker (20 points) and sophomore guard Kai Cuff (12 points) led the scoring for the visitors in a contest they let slip away late.
So, while Archibald’s late-game contributions came in clutch, Ogden had already spent much of the night dialing Juab’s number over and over again.
Senior guard Briggs Galbraith (eight points) and sophomore Dallin Eliason (five points) each stepped up from the 3-point line in the opening half; Maw added Ogden’s third 3-pointer moments before halftime, and Juab’s eight-point lead had boiled down to one through 20 minutes of basketball.
Trent Porter rotated three different options at point guard — Galbraith, senior Tayson Porter and junior Anderson Curry — through a rough start that saw the Tigers 16-8 after one quarter but score a 23-point burst in the second.
“We fought through some things we didn’t think we’d have to fight through tonight,” Trent Porter said. “It was really fun to see how the boys responded, and being as resilient as they were. The one thing we’ve tried to teach them over the summer is flushing it — flushing mistakes, move on to the next play, start talking defensively (and), as a team, moving on together. I thought we did a really good job with that tonight.”
After opening the second quarter on a 9-0 run, Ogden found itself in a free-throw shooting match with the Wasps to begin the third quarter.
Maw, and junior center Ryan Kirkland (four points), produced the only field goals in the third quarter, but the duo put together a 3-point possession following junior center Blake Weston’s second block. Even so, Juab leaned on six bench points from Cuff to stay ahead 43-40 atop the fourth.
Two late 3-pointers by Archibald returned the lead to Ogden 47-45 for the first time since the opening quarter. Two shooting fouls by Baker (registering his third and fourth fouls in the fourth quarter alone) and sophomore Bryson Downard, as well as an offensive foul called against senior Madix Stowell, proved a critical setback for the Wasps down the stretch.
The Tigers shot just 6 of 11 from the stripe in the fourth quarter, but it was enough to shove off Juab in the waning moments. Trent Porter came away from Wednesday’s opener considerably impressed with his team’s ability to not only hang around late, but also win.
“Because I know these boys — they’ve been in the program a couple of years — I knew they were juiced,” Porter said. “I know that, as much as we preach ‘Hey, stay poised, stay in the game, stay in the moment,’ I know how they’re wired (and) they’re kinda like little hunting dogs being trained. They’re just goers, and I knew it was going to be an emotional game.”
Mountain Crest next comes to Ogden on Wednesday, Nov. 26. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
Connect with reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
