The Thunder defeated the Reds 74-51, powered by the trio of Mason Chase, Keegan Munson and Reggie Newby
OGDEN — The Desert Hills Thunder weren’t supposed to ever play inside the Dee Events Center on the campus of Weber State University in this year’s 4A state tournament.
The Thunder were the 12th seed entering the postseason and a second-round matchup with No. 5 Pine View suggested an early exit from the tourney and with it, no trip up north.
And yet, there the Thunder were Thursday morning in Ogden playing in the quarterfinals against the Cedar City Reds, after they upset the Panthers last Friday.
That upset was only the beginning.
Led by the trio Mason Chase, Keegan Munson and Reggie Newby, the Thunder upset the No. 4-seeded Reds 74-51, continuing their unexpected tournament run.
Chase scored a game-high 23 points and handed out five assists, while Munson had a double-double with 18 points and 12 boards. Newby, for his part, scored 17 points off the bench, in what was arguably Desert Hills’ best game of the season.
“This was a little unexpected,” Thunder head coach Wade Turley said. “I thought this would be another dogfight down to the wire.” The Thunder and Reds met twice during the regular season, a pair of contests decided by a combined 13 points. “I just didn’t see that happening on this stage,” Turley added.
Defense keyed Desert Hills to the win. The Thunder held Cedar City 11 points below its season average and allowed only two double-digit scorers, Dallin Grant (11 points) and Luke Armstrong (10).
That didn’t come as a surprise to Turley, however, as his team has picked up its play on the defensive side of the ball of late.
“The last two games we have been much better defensively. That was key,” he said. “I think we realized during the season that we needed to be better. We won some close (games) during the season and then we lost some (games) maybe we shouldn’t have because of our defense. Your defense has to be something you can hang your hat on every game. That way if you are not shooting great you can still stay in the game. They know the stakes are higher here at the tournament. There is no tomorrow if you don’t win, so you have to play hard and they did.”
No one more than Munson, who had his best individual outing of the year.
“I just thought it was his best game of the year, overall,” said Turley. “Defense, rebounding, offense, he just played tough today like he really wanted. He has the athleticism to be a special player and you see what happens when he puts his mind to it.”
Turley also praised Newby, who transitioned late in the season from starter to sixth man.
“I appreciate his maturity and his leadership,” Turley said. “He started most of the year and five or six games ago we decided to have him come off the bench. He’s played really well. He’s a kid that can shoot it and get hot and we really needed that.”
With the win, Desert Hills advances to the 4A semifinals, to be played Friday at 5:50 p.m.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/32x1qrH
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