Copper Hills playing good basketball so far for 2011-12 season
Through the first week of January, the Copper Hills Grizzlies boys basketball team looks strong, though they had not been through a Region 3 test. The team sits at 7-3 as of our press deadline, having lost only to Herriman, 54-47 on Dec. 2, Lehi, 61-41 on Dec. 7 and Syracuse, 54-50 on Dec. 20.
The Grizzlies opened the 2011-12 season with a trouncing of Union, 71-44 on Dec. 7. The team then went out to Kearns and handed them a 17 point loss 53-36 on Dec. 14. Copper Hills has also beaten Tooele, 84-56 on Dec. 28, Dixie, 53-45 on Dec. 30, Delta, 63-50 on Jan. 3, and Layton Christian Academy, 72-48 on Jan. 7. The Grizzlies also smoked Lia Hona by a huge 37 points, 73-36, on Dec. 16.
Copper Hills is led by a few senior team captains. Dylan Carter, who leads the team in scoring at nearly 12 points per game, returns to the helm after a great 2010-11 campaign. Carter is a presence on the court who passes to the open man first, but can hit the big shot in traffic when it matters. Bryson Allen, or BA as he’s called by teammates, is also a captain and a team leader who crashes the boards, grabbing a ton of rebounds for the Grizzlies this year. Tyler Lazenby is scoring just over 11 points per game and Dusting Graham is draining just short of ten points a game.
The team finished 2010-11 4th in Region 3 with a losing record of 11-12, and wasn’t picked to finish very high in the region this year. Some of the boys on the team have used that as fuel for their fires, according to Bryson Allen’s father, Todd. “They’re upset about the expectations and hope to use the rank from the newspaper as motivation,” Allen said.
The Grizzlies’ practices are productive according to members of the team. Ben Moss, a sophomore center who plays on the sophomore team and dresses out for junior varsity games said that the team is always working on bettering themselves. “Practices are intense, and we stay focused on getting better every day,” Moss said.
Copper Hills also has a lively 6th man as well. The student section of the stands is full of kids from all classes, sophomore through senior, who stand on their feet the entire game, calling in cadence whenever the opposition goes to the line or commits foul.
With all of those pieces in place, Copper Hills hopes to do well in Region 3 and get to the state tournament and do well there. They were bounced after the first round in 2011 after going all the way to the semis the year before.
“This team has potential to be great,” Allen said.
