On November 16, 2022, Piute held its first home basketball game of the year. Both the girls and the boys basketball teams had a game that Wednesday night. The boys freshman, JV and varsity teams all played against the boys 2A state champions, San Juan. The girls varsity team played against the girls 2A state champs, Kanab. Seeing that the boys and girls of Piute took a state sweep at last year’s basketball state championship, the home games were named the Hall of Fame Games — State Champions against State Champions.
Boys Basketball: T-Birds Vs. Broncos
First to play were the boys: Piute T-Birds versus San Juan Broncos. The game started off with lots of momentum coming from both teams. By the end of the first quarter the Broncos led 17 to 11. Right out of the gate the Broncos made a three-pointer in the start of the second quarter. With multiple free throw shots and a layup by Kole Westwood, the T-Birds slowly caught up to the Broncos. By the end of the second quarter the score became 32 Broncos and 27 T-Birds. For halftime the crowd was entertained by a wonderful performance by the Piute cheerleaders.
Kole Westwood started the third quarter off with a nothing-but-net three-point shot. San Juan followed Westwood’s shot like it was a challenge and also scored a three-pointer. With time slowly slipping away and the T-Birds down by five, a spark ignited. Jaxon Westwood intercepted a pass from the Broncos and made it to their side of the court when he passed the ball to Brooks Dalton who then made a layup. At the end of the third quarter Piute had tied the game up 41 to 41. Dalton made the first two points of the fourth quarter. In the end Piute won the game with a score of 54 to 47.
Girls Basketball: T-Birds Vs. Cowboys
After the boys game the girls started their game: Piute T-Birds versus Kanab Cowboys. The clock had gone down by three minutes when the first three points of the game were made by Kanab. Tera Morgan scored the first point for Piute off a foul shot only a few turnovers later. Kayce Gleave then pulled in a layup for the T-Birds, and then Cooper Fautin made a two-point shot. At the end of the first quarter Piute led seven to six. Fast forward to the end of the second quarter, Kanab had taken the lead with 15 to 13. The cheerleaders once again came out and gave a wonderful halftime show.
T-Bird basketball enabled a new system to their games this year. They hooked up a shot clock. The shot clock has a timer of 35 seconds. The team who has the ball can attempt to shoot until those 35 seconds are over. When the buzzer goes off, the ball becomes the other team’s possession. The shot clock is meant to force teams to not stall, making the game go by a little faster.
Halfway through the third quarter Kanab had strung together eight points compared to Piute’s one point. This didn’t stop the T-Birds from fighting, as soon the T-Birds had almost tied the game with 27 Kanab and 26 Piute. The last quarter began with the score at 31 for the Cowboys and 27 for the T-Birds. The Lady T-Birds put up a good fight, but in the end the Cowboys won 47 to 31.
Expectations for T-Bird Basketball this Year
Here are a few remarks from the T-Bird boys and girls basketball teams stating what their expectations are for the year and what they hope to accomplish.
Tera Morgan, a senior on Piute’s girls basketball team says, “This year I hope we are successful … but also just to work hard and play to our best every game.”
Head coach Eric Jessen of Piute’s boys basketball team states, “We have high hopes this year and to be back playing for a solid top spot. I hope that the kids continue to build a strong relationship and continue to work together and help each other achieve their best.”
Go T-Birds!
– by Ari Hurdsman (17) Junction
Feature image caption: The schedule for the boys and girls basketball Hall of Fame games. Courtesy Piute High School Facebook page.
Ari Hurdsman – Junction
Ari Hurdsman is a junior journalist at the Byway. She just recently moved to Ephraim, Utah, where she is a freshman at Snow College. She enjoys writing about Piute sports, and she’s really good at it! In her free time, she enjoys singing, dancing, reading and hanging out with friends and family.