On Saturday four games were played in the BYU-Idaho Center. The Spartans, Bruins, Wildcats and Freeze all won, defeating the Vikings, Titans, Wolverines and Hawks, respectively.
Spartans vs. Vikings
At 10 a.m. the Spartans defeated the Vikings 99-78. The Spartans snapped a three-game losing streak with the win, while the Vikings remain win-less.
The game started with the teams trading blows. The Spartans were up 23-13 before Viking Nathan Taylor hit back-to-back 3-pointers. The first quarter ended with the Spartans on top, 25-21.
The Spartans continued to lead into the second quarter until Kobe Garrick converted an and-one to tie the game at 35 with five minutes remaining. The Spartans closed the half out strong and led 48-42 at the end of the first half.
The Spartans built on their lead as Spartan Jarom Scott dunked home two transition baskets. The Spartans led after the third quarter, 72-55, and finished with a 21-point win.
Bruins vs. Titans
At 10 a.m., the Bruins won their fifth straight game, defeating the Titans 86-76.
The Titans jumped out to an early 19-12 lead after Titan Jacob Richins converted an and-one. The Titans led 25-16 after the first quarter.
The Bruins closed the gap slightly in the second quarter after Zachary Stoner putback layup. It was 30-26 Titans after Stoner’s basket, and the Titans still led at halftime 44-39.
The Titans maintained their lead throughout the third quarter. They led 58-52 after Kolten Bevans scored a 3-pointer with 4:30 left in the quarter.
Bruin Jayden Reinhart made a floater and tied the game. However, Titan Trey Salmon made a layup to beat the buzzer and the Titans led 63-61 going into the fourth quarter.
The teams went back and forth until Stoner scored six straight points. The Bruins led 76-73 with 3:43 left in the game and never looked back. Stoner chipped in four more points and the Bruins won by 10.
Stoner discussed the halftime adjustments that the Bruins made.
“Score more points than they do,” Stoner said. “They just hit a lot of open shots, so [we stuck] on their guys on the perimeter.”
Stoner also mentioned how the Bruins have been able to turn their season around, going from 0-3 to 5-3.
“Team chemistry,” Stoner said. “Just playing as a team. And guys are figuring out their shots.”
Wildcats vs. Wolverines
At noon, the Wildcats handily defeated the Wolverines by 34 points behind a nearly unstoppable offense. After their loss to the 6-0 Hurricanes, the Wildcats have won four straight games and have averaged 111 points per game.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead behind back-to-back Carson Weir 3-pointers. They were up 15-7 with 4:05 left in the first quarter. They never looked back.
The Wildcats led by nine after the first quarter. Wolverine Ethan Nielsen hit a moving 3-pointer to cut the lead to six, but the Wildcats responded by going on a 17-4 run. Wildcat Jackson Gardiner scored nine of the 17 points.
Wildcat Matthew Rapp gets to the basket in transition. Photo credit: Trey Wilkinson
The Wildcats led 48-29 at halftime. The final score was 114-80, with the Wildcats coming out on top.
“[It’s] a lot of ball movement,” Weir said. “We really want to start on defense, that’s kind of our big thing, just getting stops on defense and that translates to our offense. When we’re trading buckets we stall out a little bit, but when we get stops on defense that’s when we become explosive.”
Weir also mentioned how they hope to play the undefeated Hurricanes in the upcoming playoffs. The Hurricanes beat the Wildcats earlier this season, 89-74.
“We want revenge,” Weir said. “We feel like we can get them. They’re a good team and they’ve got a lot of great players, but we feel like we’ve gotten better. We’ve got the pieces to beat them.”
Freeze vs. Hawks
At noon, the Freeze took down the Hawks 89-84.
This game was primarily dominated by Elliot McAlister, who had 37 points, according to the Freeze’s personal stat keeper, Porter Velasquez.
Halfway through the first quarter, the Freeze led 9-2 after two made free throws by Freeze guard Connor Shippen. The Freeze led 17-13 after the first quarter.
McAlister came alive in the second quarter, hitting three 3-pointers as the Freeze maintained their lead. They were up 38-33 at halftime.
Elliot McAlister takes a three amid an individual 37-point performance. Photo credit: Trey Wilkinson
The Hawks kept the game close in the third quarter. In a span of 30 seconds, Chandler Pincock hit a 3-pointer, stole the ball from the Freeze and knocked down two free throws. The Freeze lead was only two points with 5:34 left in the third.
McAlister responded with seven points of his own in the last few minutes of the quarter, and the Freeze built their lead back up to eight. They led 64-56 going into the fourth.
The Freeze continued to push forward and led 77-63 with 5:02 left in the game. Two 3-pointers by Hawk Connor Nelson made it a three-point game, but McAlister responded with a 3-pointer of his own to ice the game for the Freeze, giving them a five-point victory.
“We love physicality,” McAlister said. “That’s how we love to play. We try super hard on defense, so any game that’s physical we feel like it’s to our advantage.”
McAlister also discussed why the Freeze chose to stay in a 2-3 zone defensive scheme for most of the game.
“We switched to zone last game and it worked well for us, so we thought this game it would be a success,” McAlister said. “The Hawks have a good player, Chandler [Pincock], and it’s hard to guard him man-to-man, so a 2-3 zone worked well for us.”
McAlister stressed how important team effort is.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” McAlister said. “We started off really hard and they hit us back. We just had to get the momentum back and start playing hard and that’s how we ran away with it.”
Find the up-to-date league standings on the Campus Recreation team standings website
Games will continue on Wednesday, March 1, at the BYU-Idaho Center with the 5-3 Bruins taking on the 3-3 Freeze.
