Trevor Morley sinks critical
basket in Hawks win
over So. Sevier, 49-48
By Rhett Jackson
Staff writer
1-27-2021
MONROE—For the second time in three games, Trevin Morley scored the go-ahead bucket in the final seconds. He delivered after putting on a step-through after posting up, despite being a guard.
With the North Sanpete boys’ basketball team’s 49-48 win over South Sevier, Trevin Morley’s Hawks are now 10-5 and 6-2 in Region 14 play after losing 60-58 at Manti (see Matt Harris’ story in this section).
“We liked the match up with Trevin in the post against smaller guards,” said North Sanpete Coach Cris Hoopes. “He is stronger and when he was younger actually played in the post. So he has some solid moves and we felt like we needed something at the hoop at the time.”
The Rams (4-10) took their first lead of the game at 48-47 with 1:34 remaining in the contest since being up 3-0. The Hawks followed with a missed 3-point attempt from Tyrel Morley. But then South Sevier threw the ball away with 33.8 seconds remaining after the Hawks applied pressure.
Then Trevin Morley delivered his basket, scoring with 23 seconds left for his sixth point of the half. (Just a week earlier in Nephi, Trevin Morley made a jumper at the buzzer without the convenience of being able to first jump from the floor, also for his team’s 49th point.)
With 7.7 seconds left, Brady Jacobson was called for an intentional foul when it seemed clear that the Hawks were trying to foul, still having one to give before being in the bonus. That put sophomore Ridge Tebbs at the charity stripe, his team down just one point.
But Tebbs missed both free throws.
“If you would say we would have Ridge Tebbs on the line … the kid works his guts out day in and day out, practice, games, and you know what? The ball didn’t bounce our way,” South Sevier Coach Carson Christensen said.
However, the Rams still had the ball after Tebbs’ missed free throws. But after a timeout, senior Carter Peterson lost the ball while rising for a layup attempt.
“We saw a good-looking shot for Brayden (Staples) but they closed out really well,” Christensen said. “Carter took it to the rim and tried to make something happen … credit to him. Clock’s winding down; [Peterson] saw an opening and went for it.”
North Sanpete committed just nine turnovers on the road.
“We were happy with how we were able to handle the ball against their good man-to-man pressure,” Hoopes said. “We feel like we could have taken better shots and executed better. But we liked the fact that we handled pressure and had good possessions.”
The Hawks shot just 7-of-15 from the free-throw line. Hoopes told his team that the top four teams in class 3A make at least 75 percent of their free throws. He also challenged the Hawks to find a gym and shoot free throws, Bill Pollock, North Sanpete assistant coach, said.
“We have been making it a focus in our practices and still see that we need to improve,” Hoopes said. “Our players are working at it and they know the importance of the free throw line.”
Despite the close score, there were just three lead changes and two ties. Was it the Hawks’ game to lose?
“Anytime you find a way to win, you are happy as a coach,” Hoopes said. “We do feel like we have some room for improvement and that offensively and defensively we need to improve. We have been working at those things.”
Six North Sanpete players scored at least five points, led by Landon Milne with 12.
