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Show 'Cats claim fifth place By G.BRETT HART Sports Editor OGDEN For the Woods Cross Wildcat boys j basketball team, to say "the third time's a charm" is an understatement; the 'Cats battered the Murray Spartans 80-61 Saturday to claim fifth place in the 3A I state basketball tournament. j Not only did Saturday's stomping of Murray win j WX a state placing, it handed the talented 'Cat squad a heaping helping of revenge over the Spartans, who had beaten the Wildcats twice during the regular season. The fifth place finish was especially savory for the 'Cats whose tourney appearance was their first since 1984s championship season. "I guess the third time is a charm after all, Wildcat coach Kevin Wilson said after the game. "We played better in this game than we did in the other two games. Not to take anything away from Murray, but we really didn't play very well in either of our last meetings, ' Wilson explained, "They really took it to us. They're an aggressive, physical team. They came at us, but we took it right back at them. We also put on a half-court trap that I they hadn't seen from us. I j "The kids really deserve this; they've worked hard all season." I Mike Gurr led all scorers in Saturday's battle with j Murray finishing the contest with 29 points including I a pair of 3 's and 7 of 7 from the line. Teammate Ryan Creer, who played exceptionally throughout the tournament consistently providing the I 'Cats with momentum and drive, chipped in 16. Wildcat Jon Wickizer rounded out Woods Cross top scorers with 8. Joey Johnsen and Jeremy Win get tied for Murray high-scoring honors, chipping in 16 each. The Spartans jumped to a 12-8 lead over Woods Cross, but a 25-11 run during the second gave the 'Cats a 33-26 lead at the half. With just four minutes left in the first half. Woods Cross held on to a shaky, 4-point lead, 23-1 9. The game then became a seesaw defensive battle until 50 seconds remained, and the Wildcat defense began to prevail as a Jamie Coombs steal and fast break ended in the hands of Creer, who extended the 'Cat lead to 29-23. Another Creer bucket and subse- I quent steal ended in Gurr's hands and capped the 'Cats' 33-26 halftime lead. The Wildcat momentum proved to be too much for Murray in the third. Woods Cross stifled the Spartans who managed a 9-3 run by the six-minute mark drawing draw-ing to within a point, 36-35, but a relentless defensive I effort on the part of the 'Cats and a Gurr 3 -pointer from NBA range resulted in a 4-point play and quickly quick-ly stopped Murray's hopes of getting back into the game. By the end of the third, the 'Cats had amassed a 51-39 51-39 lead and rambled to a 19 -point win punctuated by a 29-point fourth quarter scoring spree, and a virtually flawless performance from the line. Woods Cross hit 22 of 26 free throws Saturday. During the fourth, the game teetered around a 10-point 10-point Wildcat lead, but two consecutive Jon Wickizer blocks with three minutes elapsed signalled the onslaught on-slaught of a Wildcat blowout. By the end of Saturday morning's game, Wilson had cleared his bench, allowing his starters to watch from the bench and savor the win. |