4A State Boys: Ebet puts Kearns on his back, carries Cougars to title game


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OGDEN — There was no panic when the upstart Kearns’ boys basketball team trailed 10-6 early in the first quarter to Olympus in Friday’s semifinal.

Instead, Bushmen Ebet decided to take over for the Cougars, just like he has done all year.

Ebet scored a game-high 33 points, and Kearns advanced to its first state championship game in 43 years with a 63-52 win over the Titans in the Class 4A state tournament at Weber State’s Dee Events Center.

“Coach was just saying to finish the shots, finish the layup, drive to the open hole,” said Ebet, who also had nine rebounds and four assists. “I found the open gaps and took whatever I had.”

Ebet and Olympus standout Jake Lindsey, who finished with a team-high 23 points, went back-and-forth, often turning the state semifinals into their own personal game of H-O-R-S-E. In the second quarter, Ebet hit an effortless 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Cougars (19-7) up 22-18 — but Lindsey hit a jumper less than a minute later and the Titans (21-5) tied the game at 22-22 on a pair of free throws by Dominic Cervantez.

“It feels great. Playing against another great player makes you better,” Ebet said of his duel with Lindsey. “This is more competition, and I love competition.”


He's the leading guy in the state in steals, and he said 'coach, I'm going to carry the team. I'm going to get this for you.' He did it. He's been through a lot of adversity, and I think he wanted it more than anybody.

–Kearns coach Dan Cosby


The senior superstars rallied their teams often, and every time Olympus would make a run, Ebet and Kearns would rally right back to retake the lead in a game that featured eight ties and seven lead changes.

Ebet’s steal and dish to Buay Kuajian for two of his 14 points gave the Cougars a 44-43 lead with 6:36 left in the fourth quarter, and Kearns never trailed again.

“He’s the leading guy in the state in steals, and he said ‘coach, I’m going to carry the team. I’m going to get this for you,’ ” said Kearns coach Dan Cosby, who was a toddler the last time the Cougars played for a state title. “He did it. He’s been through a lot of adversity, and I think he wanted it more than anybody.”

Ebet went on a personal 6-3 run to pull ahead of the Titans down the stretch, but Lindsey’s drive to the rim for two brought Olympus within a possession, 55-52 with only 1:10 on the clock. The Titans would get no closer.

Lindsey finished with 23 points, the only Titan in double figures. Nate Fox added nine points and five rebounds, and Miles Keller supplied nine points, three boards, two assists and two steals for Olympus.

“Olympus is a good team,” Cosby said. “But we just played. They came to play, and my guys never doubted. They said they were going to do it today, and that’s what they did.”

Kearns shot 58.7 percent in the game, including 60.9 percent in the second half. Ebet made 14-of-17 shots, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and Kuajian converted on 7-of-14 field goals. Kur Kuath had six points and seven rebounds, and Tayler Marteliz added six points for the Cougars.

“Going to the state championship is just what we wanted from the beginning,” Ebet said. “It feels great. I can’t describe it.”

Next up, the Cougars get a third chance at taking down Bountiful — this time in the 4A state championship Saturday at 3 p.m. The Braves won 63-48 on Jan. 6, and followed up with a 78-72 win Jan. 30.

But for a program that has reached its furthest point in nearly a half century, the Cougars — and Ebet — will celebrate this moment. And in one day, they will play for a title against one of its aspirational schools.

“Bountiful prepared us for everything,” he said. “They, just like Olympus, are what I would like to be like and what I want Kearns to be like. It’s a top-notch program.”

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Sean Walker

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