The night was full of good performances including freshman Ben Aird's 22-point, nine-rebound effort and Anthony Hewlett's 14-point, six -assist night. But after the game, Bountiful coach Mike Maxwell was most impressed with senior Robbie Stratton's night. He spearheaded a defense that held Woods Cross to 30 percent shooting and added 15 points and seven rebounds.
"Robbie Stratton stands out. He deserves everything that has come to him. He has worked hard. He went from being cut in junior high to being the last person selected on the sophomore team to where he is now. He is one of our leaders."
The game started out slowly, with the two teams feeling each other out. Bountiful pounded the ball inside and got some easy buckets, but Woods Cross countered their every move.
Early in the second quarter, the Wildcats' Brandon Cardon hit a three pointer to cut the Braves lead to one, but then, Bountiful went on a run. Aird hit two free throws, followed by a Stratton put back.
Hewlett then stole the ball and dished it to Aird for an easy lay-in. That gave Bountiful a seven-point lead. Bountiful threatened to extend the lead even further, but Cardon hit another three to pull the Wildcats within five. After two more buckets, the Braves took a 28-21 lead into halftime.
Cardon came out in the third quarter and hit another three, but the Braves had an answer. A Stratton turnaround and an Aird put back pushed the Brave lead back to eight, a lead that they took into the fourth quarter. It looked like the Braves were just going to walk away with the game in the fourth, as they scored the first five points of the quarter to go up 41-28.
But Cardon came back with another three and Bryson Riddle stole an outlet pass and laid the ball in through traffic to pull Woods Cross within six. However, Hewlett made sure the Wildcats got no closer than that when he converted a three-point play to put the lead back up to nine.
From there, Bountiful cruised to the victory, capitalizing on Woods Cross' urgency to extend the lead to the final margin of 17.
"We made their best players take tough shots," Coach Maxwell stated. He acknowledges that they are young, but likes the direction this ship is pointing.
"We are still a very young team, but we are starting to come around a little."
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