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Show if l f - a h im n- iMMMi rr-i-ir n 'i tt m vr ' 111 1 by DAVE WIGHAM , A. A jflLlthough they were the top ranked ball team in the state for the most part, few so called experts predicted a ft state title for the Bountiful team. When the week long tour-ti tour-ti nament was over though, the Braves had clinched the title D with a thrilling 49-39 victory over a good Skyline crew. fj Senior Captain Dan Bell may have summed it up best B when he noted, "It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win." U Indeed the score may indicate a slow down affair but g these two heavyweights went toe-to-toe from the opening W tipoff. Neither side was giving an inch on defense as both f offenses had to work hard to get a shot off and even then no one can recall an open shot all evening. To look for heroes on the Bountiful side would be hard, they had their share of them. First of all there was junior Gary Seljaas who calmly sank a free throw with eight seconds remaining in the contest to give the Braves a 40-37 egde. In a way it was ironic that a foul shot would cement the victory for the local side since they had been able to hit from the charity strip during the game, 14 of 30, the Braves could have won by a wider margin. Then there was the always steady Bell who was a mountain moun-tain once again. He finished the contest with 11 points but his presence certainly made the Skyline defense uneasy. He commanded total respect and attention from the Eagles which left other men in red and grey open. Then, too, he was very active on the boards and on defense. Another candidate for hero of the game would have to be senior Rich Weight, probably the unsung player on the team the entire season. Although only 6'2" and standing among some tall timber, Rich seemed to take charge on the boards in this championship battle. Time after time it was Rich who out jumped everyone and pulled down those valuable rebounds. When he wanted the ball he went and got it. "He's a leaper and made some great rebound moves for us," noted Coach Mike Hall after the battle. Junior guard Blake Izatt had to turn in a solid job at both ends of the floor especially with Lex Brown sitting on the bench with a broken wrist. This put more pressure on Blake as a ballhandler and he responded well. Junior reserve Matt Thornley was a lift for the Braves. When one of the big people were in trouble Coach Hall had no reservations about going to Matt. The papers show him good for four points but his contributions were far above that. Lex Brown should have a solid shot at hero of the game. Although in obvious pain he wasn't about to sit this one out. He started the game but just physically couldn't do the things the Brave fans have come accustomed to seeing. Following Fol-lowing the game Lex was in the locker room sitting on the bench crying his eyes out. "I'm just so happy we won the title," he noted, but one could tell he wished he could have played a little more of the game. the hero of the game award was a reality this reporter would vote for senior guard Todd Smith. Here's a senior that was placed on the bench and told his role would be as a substitute. He accepted the role like a man and given his chance to play he responded. "Todd had a super tournament for us," admitted his coach, "and this game was his best , when we needed it." Skyline appeared to not know too much about Smith as they continued to give him the jump shots from short range and Todd ripped the nets on most occasions. When it was over Todd had ten points to his credit. The game started in spurts with Skyline pulling ahead early ear-ly only to see the Braves pull back up to them. When .the first eight minutes of war was over the score was locked at 9-9. The two giants continued to trade buckets throughout the second period with no side being able to take control of the game. rSSr v,in--Trr ,y ,.. , v?H if-' if-' . ?, . i. i MA & k: ITT "'? 3 v . .jit- HI Jr.- . " The action was rough and plenty of it when Bountiful and Skyline collided for the title last week. Lex Brown : collides with a Skyline player while Dan Bell (21) and Rich Weight (32) look on. Bountiful was able to outscore the Eagles 13-7 in the third period to pull away to what looked like a comfortable 33-26 lead after three periods. But then the Eagles found a lay to claw their way back into the battle. With just under five minutes to play the Braves enjoyed a five point lead and appeared to be ready to break the game wide open. Then Skyline began to foul and the Braves couldn't buy a foul shot at 7-11. With 1:44 left in the battle and holding a 38-35 lead, Seljaas Sel-jaas went to the line with a one and one situation. The lanky junior sank the first but then missed the second. Skyline quickly came down and lofted a shot of their owa. The ball bounced off the rim and into the hands of Smith but the Ealges stole the ball and had an uncontested lay-up to pull within two at 39-37. At the 0:55 mark, Bell was at the line shooting a one and one only to miss the first. But Skyline threw the ball away and things looked fine for the Braves. The Eagles stole the ball back but their shot missed the mark as Weight skyed for the rebound. Again it was Bell who went to the line with 0:19 lei again the usually reliable senior missed the front end . one and one, Down came the Eagles and Kent G;r' foulded with just nine seconds left. He Vent to tr ' he too missed the front end of a bonus situation. : grabbed the rebound and was fouled immediately, made his first shot for a three point lead, he -mis: second and the Braves simply stood by and watche. Skyline made a meaningless lay-up basket at the buzzer i The title was the second for the Bountiful school- ' I, won the championship back in 1969 with Larry G;: '' Steve Tibbs, Paul Spring, Craig Campbell and Cal Mum ' It was the third visit to the title game for the Bo.r r school. In 1969 they won it with assistant principal Be Mangus as coach. In 1963 when Don Perkins, now the V, cipal at the school, lo t in the finals to Jordan.! y It was the first state title for Mike Hall who has k- V. guided the Braves to two region titles and two trci the state tournament. A year ago Mike led his troops tti'j ; , consolation title losing only one game on opening t; 1 1 This year he made the clean sweep. 1 1 |