6A boys basketball playoffs: Copper Hills makes do without leading scorer to get by Hillcrest 58-44

OGDEN — If you hold an opponent below the 50-point threshold, odds are you're going to win the game. That's what happened with defensive-minded Copper Hills on Monday in its 58-44 win over Hillcrest in the first round of the 6A tournament.

Playing without leading scorer Trevon Allfrey for all but nine minutes of the game, the Grizzly defense was on point throughout, forcing the Huskies into may poor looks at the basket. The result was the Huskies making just 29 percent of their attempts and just 21 percent during the fourth quarter.

"In Region 3 we play defense," said Copper Hills coach Andrew Blanchard. "We really take pride in that as do the other teams in our league. We were focused and dialed in and we wanted to make sure we stayed with their guys."

Leading the way for the Grizzlies was Perry Dettling, who scored a game-high 17 points with Kyle Hoffman and Stone Hutchings scoring 14 and 13 points, respectively.

As mentioned, Copper Hills was forced to make do without its leading scorer due to an apparent ankle injury sustained early in the second quarter. Allfrey remained on the bench, but had a noticeable limp every time he stood up to take part in a team timeout huddle.

"He's a big piece of our team, and he just tweaked his ankle and we were pretty precautionary with him to make sure we didn't make it worse," Blanchard said. "So in the second half we just decided we were going to go without him and he'll be ready to go Wednesday."

Aiding Blanchard's decision to sit Allfrey was was how strong his team came out in the win. The Grizzlies' defensive pressure helped manufacture a 19-11 lead after one quarter and then a 29-15 lead at the half.

The second half was played on more even terms, but with the early lead established, Copper Hills could afford to trade baskets.

"We just wanted to spread them out and take good shots," Blanchard said. "It didn't happen all the time. We missed some bunnies here and there, but for the most part we had good shot selection and made the easy play."

Hillcrest was led by Brox Ashby, who scored a team-high 16 points.

With the win Copper Hills advances to the quarterfinal round where it will take on the winner of American Fork vs. Layton at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

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