Wasatch Guard Receives Consolation

Junior Jeff Murdock gets a nod for his post-season play and is

selected to the 3A All-Tournament team

By Kenny Bristow

One of the more endearing characteristics of the Wasatch high school boys basketball club this season was its bond as a team.  Game after game a different player came forward and produced just enough to lead the Wasps to victory.  With such an inexperienced group taking the court this year that would turn out to be paramount in the team’s run into the semifinals of the state 3A playoffs.

Heading that charge with strong play down the stretch was junior point guard Jeff Murdock, who was named one of the top six players in the 3A tournament by the Deseret News.  Murdock earned his all-tournament selection with strong all around performances in the Wasps four post-season games.  

Arguably the best was in the first round game at home against Desert Hills, where he scored 17 points – nine coming on three-pointers, along with seven rebounds, nine assists and three steals.  And although the individual numbers may have tailed-off a bit after that stellar performance, the junior’s leadership obviously played a major role as the Wasp’s continued to play inspired basketball.

In the second round quarterfinal, Murdock scored 10 points, grabbed three rebounds, added two assists and had a steal.  He was again sharp from long range hitting a pair of three-pointers.

After scoring six points, all on field goals, and snaring four rebounds in Wasatch’s tough 52-50 loss to eventual champ Morgan, Murdock poured in 11 points and added four assists in the 3^rd place consolation game against Snow Canyon.

“I was reading the story online about Morgan winning it all, and I was so bummed because I still felt we could’ve beat those guys,” said Murdock, “when I saw my name at the bottom getting picked for that (all-tournament team).”  “Even though not winning state had me pretty down, it was kind of cool to see that,” he added.

Junior point guard, Jeff Murdock, shown here about to attempt a free throw against Union in the Wasp's season-ending victory, said he'd rather have a championship, but the all-tournament team selection was pretty cool.

Now that the 2013 campaign is over for Wasatch, Murdock, whose only organized sport is basketball, will look towards playing club ball in the spring and summer and improving his game.  “There are a couple of us who only play basketball, so we’ll concentrate on getting better as a group this summer and coming back stronger next year,” the junior said.

Off the court situations will also keep the attention of the soon to be senior.  “I’m interested to see who will replace Coach Magnusson,” Murdock said.  A member of the Wasatch debate team and a possible candidate for Student Body President next school year, he’s not one to shy away from stating his opinion.  “We’ve got a great thing going right now, here in Wasatch,” he said.  “I’m hoping we can get someone in here who can keep us moving in the right direction.”

For Jeff, though, it’s really all about winning. “I love the game and play it all the time… I have all my life.  Club ball or just playing at the rec,” Murdock added, “I just want to keep getting better and win a championship.  “I’m so bummed it’s over right now.  I’m just anxious to get back out there already and make another run at it, “he said with a laugh.

Wasatch’s magical playoff run comes to an end

By Kenny Bristow

They weren’t one and done.  They weren’t even two and through.  They were only three points away from making it to the championship.  The Wasatch boy’s basketball team was poised to make a run at a 3A state trophy, but simply ran out of the magical gas that had propelled them into the third round of the state tournament.

On Friday night, the Wasps fell to number one seed Morgan in a battle that at times resembled a UFC match.  The underdog Wasatch squad fought with all they had and for the most part was successful.  All except for a shot or two that just would not fall.

When the clock read 2.9 seconds remaining in the game and the Trojans up by two, Wasatch set up a play for shooting guard Cooper Ballstaedt to penetrate as far down the court as he could and take his best shot at a three pointer.  It all worked except, the difficult running 30-foot shot with defenders all around, bounced off the glass to the left of the rim and the improbable run was over.

The fans at the Dee Center cheered wildly at what might have been the best game of the tournament.  And Wasatch was applauded for their performance, which should serve as consolation for them since they weren’t even supposed to be on the bracket for the tournament.  The Wasps, however, did not see things that way.

Senior Chris Johnson goes up for a field goal against the tough Snow Canyon defense.

“I was sure we were going to win state,” said Ballstaedt.  “I just had such a feeling of belief.  I’m still kind of in shock,” he added.  The guard wasn’t really bothered by the last gasp attempt – that would have taken a miracle.  It was Wasatch’s possession with the score still tied at 50 that is hard for him to swallow.  “We had it all set up for the last shot and did it perfectly.  I’m just so blown away that it didn’t happen,” the senior said.  “I’ll be playing that one back in my head for a long time.”

For their hard fought efforts against Morgan, the Wasps got to turn around after getting back to Heber City after midnight and return to Ogden for the 3^rd place consolation game against Snow Canyon Saturday at 3:00 P.M.  Not an easy thing to do emotionally.  Especially after leaving every ounce of yourself out on the floor the night before.

The Wasps decided to have some fun and make the most of their last time on the floor together.  They came out energetic – running and gunning and sinking four three pointers in the first quarter.  The Warriors matched Wasatch and eventually bested them on their way to a 25-18 lead after one quarter.

Ben Pelo scores on a layup. The junior led Wasatch in the consolation game with 13 points.

But the Wasps slowed the pace with their tenacious defense only allowing Snow Canyon five points to their 14 in the second quarter.  A mini eight point scoring barrage, highlighted by three pointers from Ballstaedt and junior Ben Pelo, gave Wasatch a 26-25 advantage.  The two teams then traded baskets the rest of the half with the Wasps coming out with a two-point lead 32-30.

The Wasps were showing little affect from the pervious night’s tough loss.  Snow Canyon, who was knocked into the consolation game from a thrashing at the hands of Bear River appeared to be hungry enough to want the 3^rd place plaque as well.

The second half consisted of more of the same closely played basketball with both teams answering each other’s attempt at running away with it.  Not until the Warriors broke a 40-40 tie with five straight points, did either team look ready to take charge.  Junior Jackson Gordon sank a three pointer followed by a Jeff Murdock bucket to pull Wasatch to within four when the third period came to a close.

Junior guard Jackson Gorden brings the ball upcourt after taking a pass from Casey Peterson.

Wasatch, despite good play on offense, was never able to regain the lead in the fourth.  Each of their scores was quickly answered by Snow Canyon which may have been a sign of the Wasps wearing down.  Justin Dorius’ consecutive scores of a field goal and a free throw would close the gap to 60- 59 with less than a minute to play, but it was two Warrior free throws that put the Wasps away for good.  Wasatch had one more chance at a three to tie it, but it would not go and Snow Canyon would convert after the rebound and walk away with the 66-61 victory.

Once again, the Wasps had at least eight scorers on the board. Pelo led the way with 13 points, followed by Jeff Murdock with 11 and Ballstaedt added 10.  Pelo, Nate Dow and Chris Johnson each had seven rebounds for Wasatch.

Lonnie Magnusson, center, sets up the play for his team during the game's final timeout.

After the 3^rd place game, Lonnie Magnusson, who has plans to step down after this season as the Wasp head coach explained how difficult it is to come back and play a consolation game the following day after a bitter defeat.  “It’s hard”, he said as he sighed and then paused.  “We wanted to win it (state).  We thought we could win it.  It just didn’t go that way for us,” he added.  But it’s been a rewarding season – it really has,” he said with a smile.  “I’m proud of all the guys for never quitting and playing hard.  It was a tremendous year for us.”

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.

MJ50

His Royal Airness hits middle age, which for some of us, 
is a depressing day.

BY KENNY BRISTOW

Time is a weird thing.  And the older we get, the weirder it gets.  One minute you're a young person figuring out ways to split rent on a two bedroom apartment with five of your buddies, the next you're laying on a heating pad because your desk job is kicking your butt.  The quicker time goes by, the quicker it becomes an eternity.  Or something like that.

Anyway... I spent a lot of time tuned in to the NBA's All-Star festivities this past weekend.  The focus of this year's event seemed to center around the greatest basketball player to ever lace up his own brand of sneakers, Michael Jordan, turning 50 years old.  Big deal?  Yeah... kinda.  To me it is.  I'm 48 - damn near 49.  Listening to everyone with a microphone in their face, talk about Jordan and how great he was 25 years ago just made me depressed.  Like... what the heck have I accomplished in the past 25 years?  Thanks Mike!

I should have seen this coming.  I was living in the "windy city" when Jordan began his rise to prominence.  He was drafted by the Bulls in 1984, I moved to the city in 1986.  From what I remember, the Bulls were a mess of a team when they drafted Jordan number three in the lottery.  He broke his foot in his rookie year and missed most of the season which makes the following years of his career even more unreal.  By the time Mike was in his fifth year, he had a decent supporting cast, a business savvy front office and a coach who no one knew at the time would transform the professional game, in Phil Jackson.

Back then, I had never been to a professional basketball game - outside of watching the CBA's Evansville Thunder in Robert's Stadium in the late 70's, early 80's.  Long gone are the Thunder, and Robert's Stadium for that matter, but the point is, I had taken in my share of basketball games.  It's my right as a Hoosier.  Even my wife knows that.

My friends and I spent many hours consuming the Chicago Bulls in our tiny north side studios surrounded by several life-sized tongue-wagging Jordan images.  We were sports nuts.  My friends were natives and had grown up with the Bears, and the Cubs, and those horrible Bulls.  They would jeer and boo cynically at the slightest misplayed ball.  Me?  I was just happy to be in those surroundings.

So, you can imagine my state of mind the night we had tickets - and I don't know how we had them - to see - live - the Bulls versus the New York Knicks in Chicago Stadium.  This old brick gymnasium was air tight.  It was loud.  It was steamy.  The half melted snow and rain outside seemed to be seeping inside the cracks in her walls.  It was great.

We were seated halfway up, but at mid court, so the view was very good even though it seemed far away.  It turned out, I discovered, to be the only way to watch Jordan play basketball.  There was not, at the time, a camera that could catch this man.  As soon as you would see him take a pass at mid court, he was underneath the basket.  In three steps.  He stole the ball on one Knick possession, loped - yes, loped, with defenders charging after him and burst from the top of the key like a jaguar for a smooth as silk two handed dunk.  And when the the Bulls were on defense, Jordan showed one of his most underrated skills.  His arms, outstretched, were half the width of the court.  I'm not kidding.  Like Plastic Man.  He could smother you without coming near you.  When he decided to drive to the basket, his upper body dropped parallel with the floor, his shoulders would widen like an eagle about to take flight and he would go around a defender as though he were a cone on a driving course.

That night changed my mind on the NBA.  That very game changed what I thought I knew about basketball.  I had watched the battles between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson on television during those great battles between the Celtics and Lakers, and sure, maybe seeing one of those games live would have been the one to impact me the most.  But it will always be that game in Chicago Stadium watching Michael Jordan play before the world knew he was Michael Jordan.  Before he was Air Jordan.  Before he was brand.  A corporation.  A superstar beyond imagination.

Now, he's just a 50 year old guy like I will soon be.  Or at least it makes me feel better to say that.  I won't, however, be appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and I don't have a tee time at Pebble Beach with Charles Barkley - another one turning 50.  Jeez!  I gotta go.  It takes the heating pad at least 10 minutes to warm up. 

Boys Show Desert Hills The Door 52-46

The unheralded Wasatch Wasps, given no chance by anyone outside of Heber to win their first round 3A playoff game, come up huge with a gritty performance against the heavily favored Thunder.

By Kenny Bristow

I got to The Nest a little earlier than usual last night... about 45 minutes before tip-off.  I was only there about 10 minutes when I knew the gut feeling I had been carrying around all week was going to come to fruition in about two and a half hours.  I felt it in the air.  I heard it in the music being piped through the gym.  I saw it in the focused faces and far away eyes of the local boys as they took their pregame warm-ups.

The Desert Hills Thunder, forced to take the long bus ride from southern Utah to face the 9-13 Wasps, arrived flat, were put back on their heels and lost to the home team, who were playing with chips on their shoulders.

I've been covering Wasatch for the Deseret News online the past couple of weeks, as most of you may know.  About 3 o'clock, my editor called me to change-up my assignment.  A staff writer would be there in Heber to write the game report, so I was asked to write a side story.  No problem.  I had already figured out that Wasatch was going to win this game and the story of their turnaround season would fall perfectly into my lap.  Here's that article:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865573358/High-school-boys-basketball-Wasatch-Wasps-enjoy-fighting-for-their-lives.html

The Wasatch High School student body rushes to the floor after the final buzzer to celebrate with their boy's basketball team.  The Wasps earned the second seed home playoff game last weekend with a victory at Union.  Using that home court advantage, Wasatch upset the Desert Hills Thunder Friday night 52-46 to advance to the second round next Thursday at Weber State University.  The Wasps will again be heavy underdogs as they face Spanish Fork.

For those of you who like to read my play by play reports - I still kept one, of course.  Lately in these Wasatch games, the story of their about face is hidden in the score sheet.  Looking back on my notes, hours after scribbling them down, I can relive the moments where the Wasps' tenacity and refusal to fall behind and keep control of the game led to their victory.

After taking the quick lead 3-0 on a layin by sophmore forward Nate Dow and a free throw by senior guard Cooper Ballstaedt, the Wasps fell victim to the hot shooting hands of the Thunder.  The Desert Hills squad looked fresh as they opened up a 10 point advantage about six minutes into the game.  Their second of six three pointers on the night put the Thunder up 17-7.  Wasatch, as they had failed to do earlier in the season, did not panic and simply kept their heads in control of their emotions.

The Wasps closed the gap with three unanswered scores before the 1st quarter would close.  Junior point guard Jeff Murdock and seniors Chris Johnson and Blake Hanson all had buckets to bring Wasatch to within four.

The home team would settle down even more in the second quarter as they outscored Desert Hills 14-10 in the frame.  Ballstaedt started it off with a three point basket and the team began to feel inspired.  They raised their level of defensive intensity creating turnovers and missed shots by the Thunder, leaving the visiting team frustrated.  A steal by Johnson and his assist to Murdock led to an and-one opportunity that made the score 22-21 D-Hills.  A put back by Dow in the closing seconds gave Wasatch the lead, but the Thunder tied it up at 27 with a foul shot to end the half.

Wasatch came out after the break with an energy not seen in several weeks.  They smothered the Thunder with an attacking defense creating turnover after turnover.  But their shots would not fall, even though several were uncontested by a seemingly shocked Desert Hills team.  Because those points were not scored by Wasatch, D-Hills was able to stay in the game despite being dominated on the court.  The game got physical, but the referees stayed out of it causing the home crowd to jeer and boo as they felt their boys were being manhandled.

A technical foul on the Thunder bench sent Murdock to the stripe for Wasatch and the guard connected on both giving them the lead 33-27.  It was not until the two minute mark in the third quarter that Desert Hills finally got on the second half score board.  Once they did, they ran off seven unanswered points to wrestle the lead away from the Wasps when the quarter expired.

This night belonged to Wasatch however.  They turned in their best period of the night when it counted, scoring 19 points and shutting down the Deseret Hills outside shooting attack.  Trading buckets throughout the first five minutes, the two squads kept within three points of each other.  It wasn't until the 1:50 mark that Wasp senior guard Jake Larsen hit on a two of two free throw opportunity, putting the home team up by four, that you could feel the win in Wasatch's grasp.

Desert Hills' only hope at this point was to continue to foul.  Head Coach Lonnie Magnussson called his plays for the ball to end up in the hands of his hot shooting guard Jeff Murdock.  The junior iced five of six attempts in the final minute to seal the upset at 52-46 for the Wasps.

It's still too early to call this a Cinderella story, but she's certainly shopping for her dress.  It was, in a nutshell, a tremendous victory for Wasatch considering how far they've come since November.  A team that once looked like they would make the post season simply because there were three teams in their region worse than them, now looks like a team that could be on a roll.  A scary type of roll if you're on the heavily favored next opponent's side.

That opponent is 18-3 Spanish Fork, a team who hasn't lost a game since dropping their last three of 2012.  The first loss of those three was to Desert Hills.  Tip-off for the second round match is scheduled for 12:50 on Thursday afternoon at Weber State University.

Wasatch Track Star Signs With Cougars

Talem Franco, a top competitor in the 800 meter run in track and field and an All-Conference wide receiver in football, signs a national letter of intent to run track for BYU.

By Kenny Bristow

Yesterday afternoon, I had the pleasure of covering Talem's signing of his letter to attend BYU.  While I was well aware of Talem's great speed and skills on the football field, I knew little of his track and field abilities.

It was nice to get to know him a little bit and speak to his father about his recruiting process.  Talem is a modest kid, so I needed his dad to give me a lot of the information for the article.  He is a great young man and will do very well in his collegiate career.

One comment I would like to make on a personal observation about Talem, before I link you to the Deseret News piece, is this kid is a leader.  His work ethic and willingness to sacrifice for the better of his team may be his strongest attribute.  He doesn't thump his chest or holler at his teammates... he just performs on the field.

His leadership was never more evident to me than in Wasatch's final football game of this past season, a home thrashing at the hands of Bear River.  Not to look at things in a negative way, but about halfway through the second quarter I noticed Talem wincing in pain with his leg heavily wrapped.  I recognized right away as he limped along the sideline and gingerly rode the stationary bike that he had a nasty quad pull.  He would not be going back into this game - no matter how badly he may have wanted to.

Once that became obvious to his teammates, I noticed a little more wind fell out of the Wasp's sails.  A few more shoulders dropped a little lower.  One of their top warriors would not be able to carry on in the battle.  No team would like to admit they rely so heavily on a single player, and maybe in this case it wasn't about having him so much as it was about not having him.

Anyway... read about Talem and his choices for the future in my post for the Deseret News online.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865573132/Running-with-the-Cougars-Wasatch-senior-Talem-Franco-signs-with-BYU.html    

Wasps Come Up Big In Divisionals

By Kenny Bristow

After a season of uncertainty, emotional highs and lows, and resurgent hope, The Wasatch High School wrestling team had an outstanding showing this weekend at Uintah High School in the Southeastern 3A divisional state qualifying round.

Two Wasps won their individual weight classes, freshman Braiden Parker at 106 lbs and sophmore Spencer Heywood at 152 lbs.  Three Wasatch wrestlers earned second place finishes, seniors Robby Miner at 126 lbs, Garrett Sweat at 132 lbs and Bryce Provost at 160 lbs.  Senior Sterling Ballif at 120 lbs, juniors Albert Jepperson at 138 lbs and Logan Huntington at 145 lbs, and senior Parker Hortin at 182 lbs all took third place honors in their classes.  Overall 20 grapplers from Wasatch finished in the top 10 with 17 of them qualifying for state next weekend.

Wasatch handily won the meet over host Uintah and the Union Cougars, as a team, scoring 306.5 points.  Here are the final placements and individual point results for their team, of the 20 top 10 finishers in the tournament for Wasatch.
 
106 - Spencer Roylance (22-19) placed 5th.
106 - Braiden Parker (28-16) placed 1st and scored 30.00 team points.
113 - Gage Bradley (26-14) placed 4th and scored 20.00 team points.
120 - Caden Clyde (24-14) placed 5th.  
120 - Sterling Ballif (30-16) placed 3rd and scored 21.00 team points.
126 - Robert (Robby) Miner (39-4) placed 2nd and scored 26.00 team points.
126 - Stanley Ballif (21-19) placed 8th.
132 - Garrett Sweat (34-10) placed 2nd and scored 25.50 team points.
138 - Albert Jepperson (19-18) placed 3rd and scored 28.00 team points.
138 - Matthew Provost (30-14) placed 4th.
145 - Logan Huntington (37-14) placed 3rd and scored 19.00 team points.
145 - Nick Pisitelli (15-11) placed 10th.
152 - Nate Arnold (8-6) placed 10th.
152 - Spencer Heywood (39-11) placed 1st and scored 28.00 team points.
160 - Bryce Provost (36-15) placed 2nd and scored 26.00 team points.
170 - Jake McNaughton (31-19) placed 4th and scored 20.00 team points.
182 - William (Parker) Hortin (23-12) placed 3rd and scored 23.00 team points.  
195 - Cabit Nye (18-10) placed 4th and scored 26.00 team points.
195 - Ben Boss (27-12) placed 5th. 
220 - Kody Metcalf (17-18) placed 9th and scored 5.00 team points.
285 - Joseph Forbush (13-11) placed 9th and scored 9.00 team points.

For more on the 3A wrestling divisionals visit:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865572791/High-school-wrestling-Delta-Wasatch-capture-3A-regional-titles.html