Boys basketball playoffs: Greenhalgh keys Roy run; Royals top Clearfield in 5A first round
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- Roy High’s Anthony Parker (5) tries to drive through contact from Clearfield’s Elijah Dankwa in a 5A first-round playoff game Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
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- Clearfield High’s Jack Galvan (3) rises for a floater against Roy’s Jesse Jones (23) in a 5A first-round playoff game Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
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- Roy High’s Boston Greenhalgh (24) gathers the ball as Clearfield’s Dallas Godderidge trails the play in a 5A first-round playoff game Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
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- Roy High boys basketball head coach Ryan Hannah instructs his team during a timeout in a 5A first-round playoff game Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
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- Roy High’s Rock Speredon (1) and Clearfield’s Bode Davis (32) contest the jump ball to begin a 5A first-round playoff game Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
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- Roy High’s KK Kennedy (22) corrals the basketball against defense by Clearfield’s Hayden Parry in a 5A first-round playoff game Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
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- Clearfield High’s Jack Galvan (3) puts up a 3-point shot while Roy’s Jesse Jones (23) attempts to contest in a 5A first-round playoff game Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
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- Roy High’s Anthony Parker (5) drives into the paint against Clearfield’s Jack Galvan in a 5A first-round playoff game Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
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- Clearfield High’s Elijah Dankwa reaches for the basketball in a 5A first-round playoff game against Roy on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
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- Roy High’s Boston Greenhalgh rises to shoot in a 5A first-round playoff game against Clearfield on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
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- Clearfield High’s Luke Evans, center left, skies for a rebound in front of Roy’s Rock Speredon (1) in a 5A first-round playoff game Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
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- Clearfield High boys basketball head coach Scott McLaughlin leads his team during a timeout in a 5A first-round playoff game on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
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- Roy High’s Boston Greenhalgh grabs the basketball in a 5A first-round playoff game against Clearfield on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Roy.
ROY — Roy High coach Ryan Hannah had a few choice words for his team when he called a timeout late in the first quarter with his team down 14-5 against Clearfield on Wednesday night.
“They weren’t all happy words; they were words that … I knew my players were better than the way they were playing,” Hannah said. “We have great team leadership and I think they were inspired by that timeout and responded in a really good way.”
The Royals rallied with a 20-4 run over the next 6 1/2 minutes, taking a 25-18 lead at the 3:51 mark of the second stanza, an advantage that grew to 12 points midway through the third period.
No. 23 Clearfield twice closed that second-half double-digit deficit to three points in the fourth quarter, but the No. 10 Royals held off the charge and advanced to the second round of the 5A state boys basketball playoffs with a challenging 69-59 victory.
The Falcons (9-15) flew out of the cage to the early nine-point edge behind seven points from junior guard Jack Galvan and an opening 3-pointer by senior forward Hayden Parry.
“We’ve been starting pretty strong in all of our games and to continue that way was great,” Clearfield coach Scott McLaughlin said.
Two free throws by Clearfield senior Alyric Kelley caused Hannah to signal for the time out with 2:27 left in the first quarter.
“We started out really slow and that timeout got us motivated,” Roy senior guard Boston Greenhalgh said. “He screamed at us, but it helped us lock in a little.”
Senior forwards Jake Hamblin and Jesse Jones got the Royals (19-5) headed in the right direction, with back-to-back offensive rebound buckets on the next two possessions after the timeout.
“We have great size and when we attack the offensive glass and get those baskets, it makes us pretty tough to beat,” Hannah said.
Greenhalgh was a key cog in that 20-4 run, hitting a trio of 3s over a three-minute span during the outburst. He already had 16 points with 5:34 remaining in the half.
“I was feeling good in warmups. … Let them fly, and they were going in,” Greenhalgh said.
Lincoln Britt took on scoring duties with five points over the balance of the second quarter for the Royals, and they led 32-23 at the break.
“He’s a really good junior; he’s our sixth man and brings a lot of energy off the bench,” Greenhalgh said. “We trust him to score.”
Where Hannah used a time out to spur his troops, McLaughlin didn’t feel like the Falcons needed to pause and refocus on doing things differently, until they dropped into that 25-18 hole.
“You take a timeout to see what needs to be fixed. We had openings offensively; we just weren’t hitting shots,” McLaughlin said. “From what I saw, we had plenty of opportunities; we needed to get the shots to fall and they weren’t falling.”
Sophomore guard Anthony Parker netted seven points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, and a Greenhalgh basket-and-one made it 44-32 for Roy with 2:50 showing on the clock.
While Roy led 46-36 after three quarters, Clearfield’s struggles at the free-throw line could have turned the game to the visitors. The Falcons shot 1 of 8 from the charity stripe in the final 2:33 of the third period.
“We’ve been a solid free-throw shooting team. There’s an element of it being playoff basketball on the road,” McLaughlin lamented. “My guys are good free-throw shooters, it just didn’t happen today.”
Roy led 59-49 with 2:56 left before Clearfield posted a 7-0 run, strangely enough on the strength of 4 of 6 from the free-throw line, and a 3-pointer by junior Elijah Dankawa.
“We had a good lineup in there, making some shots, fighting for rebounds and causing some turnovers with our press to get back in it,” McLaughlin said.
It was 61-58 with a minute remaining, but a right-angle Greenhalgh floater, four Parker free throws a Greenhalgh pair over the last 24 seconds put the Falcons away.
“We took some quick shots; our players are aggressive and wanted to score, but we eventually figured it out and did what we wanted to do,” Hannah said.
Greenhalgh paced the Royals with 26 points on 9 of 18 from the field, including four 3s in the first half. Parker scored 11 points and Britt had nine points.
Jones checked all the boxes with a double-double on 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Galvan led the Falcons with 23 points on 8 of 19 from the floor, including five 3-pointers. Kelley had 12 points and senior center Bode Davis added eight points and six rebounds.
“Jack had a really solid game. It’s hard when you have a good game and you lose. The losses hurt,” McLaughlin said.
Roy advances face No. 7 Springville (15-7) on the road at 7 p.m. Friday.
