Wasatch Boys Keep Eye On The Prize

Wasps defeat region foe Uintah 49-43 in The Nest

It would be easy for them to give up.  Switching into cruise control and calling it a season after the way some of their games have ended up, would be what a team without heart would do.  But this is not the Wasatch way.  Friday night, on their home court in Heber City, the Wasps jumped on the Uintah Utes early and never let up, playing focused ball for four quarters en route to a 49-43 win.

Wasp guard Jeff Murdock pulls up for a shot in Wasatch's win in front of their home crowd.

At one point in the season, the Wasp’s varsity boy’s basketball team was a disappointing 1-8.  One of those losses was by one point and the other was by two.  Both of those games came down to the final possession with Wasatch looking for the game-winning shot that would never fall.  The eighth loss in that stretch was in double overtime at Maple Mountain in a game Wasatch was in control of until completely coming apart in the final frame.  You don’t like to deal in “what-ifs” in sports, but simply turn those three final scores around and the black and gold’s overall record is a decent 4-5.

Since that rocky beginning, the Wasps have gone 3-3.  Let’s indulge in one more “what-if” and put that loss to rival Park City, where Wasatch had the game in hand and lost on a half court Hail Mary, in the win column and things suddenly aren’t looking so bad.

But the season is what it is and all that the players and coaches can do is to keep playing and coaching.  Learn from the tough losses and the mistakes that led to them.  Get better as a team and keep the eye on the prize, which is victory, and the bad fortune can only turn to good.

Senior guard Cooper Ballstaedt manuevers in the paint for two of his team-high 17 points.

On Friday night… it was good.  No reason to rely on lady luck this game because the Wasps had come to win.  Senior guard, Cooper Ballstaedt, who had been in a bit of a scoring slump the past few games, broke out in a big way starting the game off with a three-point basket.  After Uintah scored two, Ballstaedt wasted no time taking the ball inside and scoring on a layup.  It set the tone for the night.  “We had a really focused practice yesterday and wanted to come out strong,” the senior said.  “When we’re in it from the beginning, we always play good and have the chance to win”, he added.  “I believe in this team.  I have from the beginning.  It’s been hard to keep our heads up, but we can do it.  We can turn this around.”

Even with the hot start for the Wasps, they found themselves down by two at the end of the first quarter.  But adjustments on defense totally shut Uintah down and held them to just one basket in the entire second quarter.  The Wasps were making better shot choices and creating opportunities underneath with crisp passing.

Coming out after the half with the 24-16 lead, Wasatch found themselves facing a more aggressive Ute attack.  Uintah forced Wasp errors and turnovers and worked their way back into the game, knotting up the score at 34 when the third quarter buzzer sounded.

Sophmore forward Nate Dow goes glass on this put-back for two of his eight points.

Senior Chris Johnson goes up over a Ute defender for a basket.

But that was as close as they would get to the home team as the Wasps, led by Ballstaedt, senior Chris Johnson and sophmore Nate Dow, would stubbornly control the ball and make the choice shot keeping the Utes at bay.  Wasatch had actually opened up the lead to 10 points, but strategy allowed Uintah two baskets in the closing seconds.  It would not matter, however, as sealing the victory was the most important goal to attain on this night.

Nearly having to shout over the drums of victory thumping away in the gym, Head Coach Lonnie Magnusson, smiled and said, “we won”, when asked how this game differed from some of the other tough contests that saw Wasatch come out on the short end.  “Defense.  We played good defense tonight, “ the head coach said.  “We made our shots when they were there.  We didn’t make the big mistake that has cost us in the past”, Magnusson added.  “They used a smaller line-up tonight so we tried to take advantage of that inside… and we did.”

The Wasps were led by Ballstaedt, who scored a season-high 17 points, including a pair of three’s.  Fellow classmate Johnson, backed him up with 10 points.  Dow scored 8 points in a strong performance in the paint for Wasatch.  Both Johnson and Dow grabbed seven rebounds apiece.  As has been the theme for the season, seven Wasatch players contributed in the scoring column. 

The Wasps hope to string two wins together for the first time this year when they visit Juan Diego next Friday night.  There is new reason for optimism as the regular season looks at its final seven games.  Wasatch has weathered a pretty rough storm so far.  Keeping their eye on the prize is what it’s all about now.

Win or lose, these two cuties in their pink boots love their Wasps.