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Show K ays ville edges Central to claim district title w Home orchestrates dreom season in first year at helm leading Kniahts to 13-1 record By G.BRETT HART Sports Editor KAYS VILLE It's not very often that a coach can come into a program and, in his first year, lead a team to a 10-1 regular season record and a league championship, but that's what coach Ben Home and the Kaysville Junior High boys' basketball team did this season. The Knights, whose only loss came at the hands of the South Davis Spartans, overcame the only other Davis County junior high team with a 10-1 record, Central, Cen-tral, in overtime to capture the district championship. Kaysville defeated Central 54-53 to cap the team's dream season March 4 at Davis High School. (Incidentally, (Inciden-tally, Central's only loss during regular season play came at the hands of Kaysville, earning the Krights the number one seed coming into the tournament. Central entered tourney play as the number two seed.) The key to Kaysville's success, according to Home, is the chemistry and teamwork that exists between the boys. "The ninth graders on our team have played a lot of basketball together," Home explained "The seventh and eighth graders have learned to feed off their example. They can see what solid teamwork team-work can do for a team." Home, who graduated from Weber State University last June, knew that his team would have to overcome the unavoidable challenges new programs bring with them. "I had a lot of great players, but obviously, they didn't know what to expect. The key to our success this season has been the total dedication the boys have given to the team." t In the first round of the district championship, the ! Knights defeated Bountiful Junior High 54-34 led by j Greg Emery's 21 -point performance. i Bountiful stalled for the first four minutes of play, j forcing Kaysville into a man-to-man defense. However, by the end of the first, the Knights had gained the lead and were able to hold on for the win. i i SEE KNIGHTS ON A-12 r Knights CONTINUED FROM A-1 0 Mike Richardson trailed Emery with 14 followed by Jason Calder, who logged 7 for the Knights. Second round action pitted the Knights against the tenacious Centerville Chargers. Kaysville managed to edge Centerville, 70-64 ; in a dramatic come-from-behind ! win. ; Spurred by Jensen's 31-point i performance, Centerville amassed a 10-point lead late in the game. Emery led Kaysville scoring with 25 including three, 3-pointer which sparked the Knight comeback. Dan Stoll and Mike Richardson chipped in 21 and 16, respectively, to lead Kaysville. ' The final match pitted the number one and two seeds against each other in a grudge match between be-tween the two county teams with ! the best records. ; Central pounced on the Knights early 7-0. However, once the jitters were worked out, Kaysville did a little pouncing of its own, exploding with an 11-1 run after a Knight time-out. Central returned after the quarter break to outscore Kaysville 12-2 and lead 23-13. The Knights had suffered 15 first-half turnovers and were lucky to trail by three at this point. Kaysville outshot Central during the third 18-14 and regained the lead 41-39 sparked by Greg Emery's 10 points in the third alone. Emery finished the game with 18. Whereas terrific shooting from the line had saved the Knights from defeat against Centerville, terrible free throw shooting almost cost Kaysville the championship. The Knights sank only 9 of 26 charity tosses (11 in the second half), allowing Central to tie the game at 51. In overtime, Richardson hit a field goal and Emery sank a free throw to spur the Knights to win. |