Over the weekend, the boys basketball team headed down to Richfield with an 11-13 record and returned as state champions.
The Bulldogs entered the tournament as the No. 10 seed. They traveled to Morgan the weekend prior and took down the seven seed Trojans, 59-49, in a first round matchup. JJ Apathjang led all scorers with 21 points. Deng Deng and Aaydan Saucedo added 12 points each. This game set up a matchup with third-ranked Emery Spartans who came into the game with a 17-5 record.
The underdog Judge team came out hot and held a substantial lead for nearly the entire game. They saw some adversity in the fourth quarter, with star junior guard and team scoring leader JJ Apathjang fouling out. Led by the game’s top scorer, Luke Justice of Emery, the Spartans ramped up the pressure and force some sloppy play by the Bulldogs. They were able to claw their way back, but it was too little too late. Judge caught a 70-63 victory, and with an Ogden beating Union in the other semifinal game the board was set for the semifinal matchup on Friday, Feb. 23.
Once again, Judge was the underdog. The No.2 Ogden Tigers were 20-5 coming into the game and a team that many had chosen to win the entire tournament. Though the game started out competitive, the Bulldogs racked up points in the second and third quarters. At one point extending their lead by as much as 23 points, and it looked like they had built up enough of a lead in the third quarter to put the Tigers away.
However, as in the preceding game, Apathjang fouled out in the middle of the fourth quarter. Ogden was able to storm back, scoring 28 in the final period and taking a 60-59 lead with a minute left in the game. Junior Deng Deng was fouled on a drive to the basket and tied the game up with a clutch free throw. Then, with a defensive stop on the final play, the game was sent to overtime.
Saucedo and Deng took control in the overtime period, scoring six points and four points respectively, with each having huge, momentum shifting, and-ones. The Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 10-3 in overtime, winning the game and clinching a spot in the 3A championship game. Ogden had balanced scoring with four players in double figures led by Bingham Call (16) and Stockton Marriott (14).
The team advanced to their first championship game in 14 years, where they faced the No.1 South Summit Wildcats. The Wildcats finished the season with an impressive 20-3 record, and boasted a lineup with superior size and length. They rolled their way through the other side of the bracket with wins against Delta, American Heritage, and Richfield.
Overall, the game was very back and forth. Bulldog sophomore guard Aymen Ismail came out of the gate scorching hot, going 4-5 beyond the arc and leading Judge to an early 12-6 lead.
Coming out of an early timeout, the Wildcats were able to slow the game down and halt Ismail’s scoring barrage, eventually finishing the quarter up 22-19. The second quarter was more of the same. At one point, South Summit had extended their lead by as much as seven. However, the Bulldogs clawed back in a fast-paced 9-0 run powered by junior center Longor Alor’s back-to-back threes. The rest of the quarter was back and forth, and the Wildcats went into the half with a 34-33 lead.
The third quarter belonged to JJ Apathjang as he exploded for 14 points. Judge began to pull away, and finished the quarter with a 10-point lead. As in the two previous games, however, their opponent didn’t disappear. Judge’s shooting went dry for the first seven minutes of the final period. The Wildcats desperately fought their way back into the game, going on a 10-0 run to tie it late at 60. South Summit Junior Logan Woolstenhulme led the comeback for the Wildcats. He would finish the game with an impressive line of 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists.
However, once again, the Bulldogs got it done late.
With just over a minute left, Apathjang would penetrate South Summit’s zone, and drew an extra defender toward him. He kicked the ball outside to senior Aaydan Saucedo on the wing, who sunk a deep three to take back the lead. South Summit scored a quick two, but fouled on the next play and sent Saucedo to the line. He promptly made both attempts, giving Judge a three-point lead.
South Summit called a timeout after with one more chance to send the game to overtime but were unable to. After a missed deep shot, Saucedo stole the rebound and lobbed a deep pass up the court to Deng. As time expired Judge won their first state championship in boys basketball in sixteen years, and only the fourth state title in the school’s 104-year history.
Junior guard JJ Apathjang led the Bulldogs with a near triple-double. He finished with a statline of 25 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, and was named to the all-tournament team.
However, none could compare to senior guard Aaydan Saucedo, who was named tournament MVP after coming up strong in the clutch in each playoff game. On his game-sealing three, Saucedo had this to say: “I knew that ball was going in. I knew I was going to shoot that ball. I knew it was going in, and it did.”
