Wasps Prove Themselves Worthy

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Wasatch upsets Spanish Fork 46-36 in quarterfinals

BY KENNY BRISTOW

The chip is bigger now.  It’s starting to show.  What was once a simmering “we think we can” has become an undeniable force.

The Wasatch boy’s basketball team took the court at the Dee Center on Thursday afternoon to face the heavily favored Spanish Fork Dons and sent a second straight supposedly ‘better’ team home with a loss.  The Wasps are now 2-0 in the post season and play the Morgan Trojans, the number one seed in 3A, tomorrow night at the Weber State University facility.  Morgan scored a blistering 69 points in their win over Cedar City in the game immediately following the Wasatch contest.

The Dons of Spanish Fork, who had scored over 60 points 10 times this season, and over 50 points in all but two of their 18 wins, came to Ogden to spoil the Wasps tenacious defense.  It wasn’t meant to be, however, as Wasatch shut down the Dons potent offensive attack, forcing multiple turnovers and missed shots.  

After controlling the opening tip-off, senior guard Cooper Ballstaedt of Wasatch hit a three-pointer to get the game going.  Fellow senior Chris Johnson then added a quick lay in for the Wasps and the underdog was up 5-0.   The game soon found itself being one fought in the paint.  Johnson and sophmore forward Nate Dow worked short underneath passes to keep Wasatch on top.  But Spanish Fork charged with seven unanswered points to take a four point lead, 13-9, at the end of the first quarter.

The second frame was low scoring as both teams found it difficult to sink their shots.  The opportunities for Wasatch were especially plentiful, but the Wasps could not take advantage.  When scoring did occur it was inside, just underneath the basket, as the Wasps and their counterpart could not find the hot hand on the perimeter.  Johnson remained a strong force for Wasatch with the game inside and they worked their way back to tie it up at halftime, 21-21.

The Wasps would stake claim in the third quarter.  Jumping out quickly on a Jake Larson field goal, Wasatch took the lead it would never surrender.  The teams traded scores on a couple of possessions keeping the game close before a 6-0 Wasatch run.  Junior forward Ben Pelo’s lay up after a Jeff Murdock steal and assist, would put Wasatch up 36-28 with less than a minute left in the period.

Wasatch never relented in the final quarter.  Their defense remained stout and they refused to waiver after getting several team fouls called on them sending the Dons to the line.  But the Spanish Fork shooters had gone cold and were unable to chip away at the Wasp lead. 

A Larson lay-up on a fast break that was topped off with a foul shot, the senior converted, gave Wasatch a 10-point lead at 44-34.  Spanish Fork would add another field goal to pull within eight, but fouled Larson again who would convert two of two to keep the lead at 10 when the final buzzer sounded giving Wasatch a 46-36 victory. 

To hold Spanish Fork to under 40 points was quite an achievement, not unnoticed by head coach Lonnie Magnusson.  “We played a great overall game, but I credit the defense again,” he said.  “It just leads to more success on offense.”

When asked about the performance of senior Chris Johnson who led the Wasps with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Magnusson said, “He just came out aggressive tonight.  Probably more aggressive than I’ve ever seen him.  The team fed off that,” the coach added.  “We’ve got a team where no one player is dominant, so we have a lot of different guys stepping up all the time.  It was great to see Chris have a big game.”

In addition to Johnson’s 17 points, Pelo added six points and nine boards and Murdock added six points and four rebounds.  Dow had five points and three Wasps, Ballstaedt, Larson and Jackson Gordon added four apiece.