North Sevier Wolf basketball went 1-1 this past week with hard fought region games, beating North Summit for the second time and losing a close battle in Duchesne.
Wednesday night at home the Wolves came out hot and jumped out to an early 19-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Braves continued to battle and put up a big 24-point fourth quarter pushing the score too close for comfort, but North Sevier took the 62-39 victory.
Ethan Fielding led the team in scoring with 27 points, Tate Goble 13, Keaton Rosquist 7, Ryker Frischknecht 6, Greyson Bennett, Randy Elmer, and Keaton Hallows each 3.
In Duchesne Friday night the Wolves again took the lead at the beginning of the game, beating the Eagles 14-6 but Duchesne held North Sevier to just 4 points in the second quarter to take the 23-18 lead. Both teams were tied 27-27 at the end of the third quarter but a tough, rough fourth quarter gave Duchesne the disappointing 35-30 win.
Fielding again led in scoring with 13, Goble had 8 big points, Greyson Bennett 5 and Ryker Frischknecht 4.
“The boys continue to play well!” said Coach Dakota Shepherd. “We have really stressed coming out hot and getting a jump on teams. Wednesday against North Summit we went up 21-5 and the boys didn’t look back. We were executing and trusting each other. Friday against Duchesne we had another great start as we jumped out to a 16-6 lead. Even though we lost a close one, it was a great learning opportunity going into the second half of region. We love the effort and energy the boys are giving, especially on defense. We are looking forward to closing out region with three home games.”
This week the team hosts Gunnison on Wednesday and Millard on Friday. Senior night is Friday, February 11 against Duchesne in the team’s final home game of regular season play.
North Sevier Lady Wolves basketball also went 1-1 in region play this week, beating North Summit Tuesday at home and losing an overtime thriller Thursday in Duchesne.
The Wolves took the lead Tuesday night against the Braves beating them 21-13 at the end of the first, but a slow scoring 8-point second quarter gave North Summit a 32-29 half time score. The game went down to the last minutes of the fourth quarter when the Wolves were able to take the close, hard fought 53-51 win.
Senior Gracee Johnson led the team in scoring with 15 points, Brooklyn Butler added 12 and both Avery Smith and Alli Mason each had 10. Kamryn Pierce contributed 3, Mila Torgerson 2, and Cale Torgerson 1.
“After losing to last year’s state champs, North Summit, by 2 on Jan 13, we knew we could compete with them. We played them less than 2 weeks later and were able to pull off a 2-point win. It has been 6 years since we’ve beaten them, so it felt like a pretty big win and a turning point in our season. We jumped out to an early 10-point lead but then stumbled in the second quarter to go down by 3 at half. It was never more than a 6-point game after that. Gracee had her best game of the year, but Butler, Alli, and Avery also scored in double digits, so it was definitely a team effort,” said Coach Lexa Larsen.
Against #4 ranked Duchesne on the road Thursday night the Eagles had the advantage at the end of the first quarter, winning 15-10, but the half time score was equal at 20-20. The game came down to the wire and ended up tied at the end of regulation, and a last-minute basket that luckily fell in for the Eagles gave them the disappointing 51-50 win.
“We started the first quarter down 5 but we were able to avoid foul trouble and tied it at 20 at the half. Duchesne pulled out a half-court trap in the second half and pulled ahead by as much as 4 but Alli Mason made a FT with :26 remaining to tie the game at 42. After a great defensive stop the game headed to OT. We were trailing by 1 with under a minute left in OT when Avery powered up a left hook to regain the lead. We were leading by 1 but missed chances to extend the lead at the free throw line. After missing a FT with :06 left Duchesne rebounded and raced the length of the floor. Their leading scorer floated a runner at the buzzer, and we ended up losing by one, 51-50,” said Larsen. “Butler kept things going for us offensively, but we got a huge game from Cale Torgerson. She came in and played lock down defense on Duchesne’s best player while also hitting two three’s and scoring twice in overtime. We’re looking forward to the rematch on Feb. 10 which will also be senior night.”
Cale Torgerson was the leading scorer with 12, Brooklyn Butler had 11 and Gracee Johnson 8. This week the team hosts Gunnison on Tuesday, February 1 then Millard on Thursday. The Lady Wolves senior night will be Thursday, February 10 against Duchesne to finish off regular season play.
