Hawks only get 36 in loss to South Sevier, then double output to 85, but still lose

By Matt Harris

01-17-2019

MT. PLEASANT—Last week brought Hawks fans the absolute best and worst of offensive output for the North Sanpete boys’ basketball team, and unfortunately, the boys in red and white lost both games anyway.

            In a two-game home stand, the Hawks dropped a snoozer against South Sevier, 50-36, their lowest point total of the season last Wednesday. Subsequently, they followed up the loss with an 85-point outburst against Emery, a wonderful showing left unglorified due to the unimaginable 102-point rainstorm from the visiting Spartans.

            North Sanpete fell to 0-4 in region play and 4-9 overall, a full five games behind the rest of the region. The offensive explosion was Emery’s second 100-point game in their last three contests.

            “We will need to cut back on simple mistakes to get wins in this very competitive region,” Head Coach Cris Hoopes said.  “All of the teams in our region are extremely well coached and skilled. The good thing is if we start to win, we would be able to get back into the race very quickly.”

            Prior to the game against the Spartans, North Sanpete had been averaging 53.3 points per game, the lowest in Region 15, a league full of hot shooters.

            While the Hawks played from behind virtually the entire game against South Sevier, they had a lead against the Spartans after the first quarter, 25-20, a score which offered a forecast of burning nets to come. The Hawks held the lead for the first minute of the second, but a three- pointer in the corner from Emery took the lead away, part of a mind-blowing 31 points in eight minutes and a 10-point halftime lead.

            The Hawks played basket for basket with Emery for the rest of the game, but could never get any closer. What’s more, North Sanpete had no answer for slowing down Emery’s senior Kyson Stilson, who finished with 40 points, seven 3s, and is currently the sixth-best scorer in Utah with 24.6 points per game. The Hawks also spotted the Spartans a good deal of real estate at the charity stripe, where Emery made a whopping 25 free throws.

            “Emery does two things very well,” Hoopes said. “First, they have a few players that drive into the lane, and second they shoot the three. We struggled to keep them out of the lane and when we had to help, and they passed well and hit the three.”

            Credit was deserved to the selfless play of North Sanpete. Four players scored in double figures as senior big man Jamal Mayoul led with 21 points. Tyler Hadley, a senior, scored 20 points for the first time ever in a Hawk uniform, in part thanks to four three-pointers. Scott Hatch kept his scoring prowess consistent with 15 points, and sophomore Trevin Morley netted 12, tying his best game with North Sanpete.

            The Hawks press forward, traveling to face Richfield on Wednesday. Then comes the cross-county rivalry with Manti this Friday in Manti at 7pm.