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Morgan boys basketball stuns previously unbeaten South Summit, 59-55

Jan 25, 2024 09:42AM ● By Brian Shaw

Last week, the big news was that for the third time this season, senior Kolton Asay tied a school record, draining seven threes in a Trojans loss to Ogden. And Mason Williams broke a school record when he registered his 17 and 18 blocks of the season during that loss. 

And in one season, Bracken Saunders is already doing what nobody thought possible; the sophomore’s 292 total points give him a legitimate shot at moving into the top 10 all-time at Morgan in one season; he needs 101 more to pass another Saunders [Braden, that is.] 

But this week was more about the team, and not about bragging rights at the dinner table, as Morgan stunned previously unbeaten South Summit 59-55 at home Jan. 19 to stay in the thick of the Region 13 title hunt. 

The Trojans got a season-high 35 points from Bracken, who has been the leading scorer in most of Morgan’s games. 

What’s odd about this win is that for Morgan [8-8, 3-1 Region 13] the beginning of the game did not go the Trojans way. In fact, it was the exact opposite as South Summit rolled to a 17-6 lead after one quarter. 

The Trojans could only muster a few more points in the second quarter and trailed 27-17 at the half. 

In the third quarter, however, is where Morgan mounted a comeback bid, scoring 20 points including a dozen from Saunders. 

By the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Trojans were within seven points, at 44-37. That’s when the hot hand of Saunders really started heating up, as Morgan once again proved it could play with anyone and moved to a .500 record on the season with a four-point win over South Summit. 

Kolton Asay tipped in 14 points for Morgan, while Derrick Tilby had six and Nik Preece four for the Trojans, who started the week at Union on Jan. 17. 

In that game, Morgan roared out to a 35-19 lead after one half and cruised to a 72-51 victory. Kolton Asay knocked down four threes and had 17 points to pace the Trojans, while Jake Hansen had 15 and Derrick Tilby, 10. 

Brody Peterson, who scored 52 in the sophomore game, made his presence felt on varsity and had three triples go down for nine points while Bracken dumped in eight. Nik Preece and Brady Hendrickson each had four points, Nate Pace three and Jack Hurd, two. 

The Trojans are mired in a three-way tie for first place at 3-1 and will continue Region 13 play this week with two road games: at Ben Lomond Jan. 24 and Jan. 26 at Ogden. Both games have 6 p.m. start times. λ

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