Parowan outlasts Kanab in overtime to win 2A state boys basketball championship

Written by Jeff Richards
February 26, 2023
Parowan players hold trophy in front of the school following victory parade the day after their 2A boys basketball state championship, Parowan, Utah, Feb. 26, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

PAROWAN — The Parowan High School boys basketball team pulled off its third upset win in as many days with a thrilling overtime win over Kanab on Saturday to claim the 2A state championship.

Parowan vs. Kanab, 2A boys basketball state championship, Taylorsville, Utah, Feb. 25, 2023 | Photo courtesy of David B. Mineer, Sr., St. George News

Parowan center Brock Felder made one of two free throws with eight seconds remaining in overtime, giving the Rams a 56-53 lead, after which Kanab’s last-second attempt to tie the game fell short.

Felder, a senior, had a monster night, scoring 32 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Although he missed a 15-footer at the end of regulation, Felder scored the first points of the four-minute overtime by hitting a fadeaway shot and getting fouled. He sank the free throw to complete the three-point play and give the Rams a 53-50 lead.

However, sophomore guard Kale Glover of Kanab then answered with a big 3-pointer to tie the game once again. A few minutes earlier, Glover had also buried a clutch 3 to tie the score 50-50 with about 15 seconds left in regulation.

With the score knotted at 53, Parowan guard Waylon Robinson got fouled after a missed shot by Felder. Robinson made the first free throw but missed the second, leaving the Rams up 54-53 with 1:39 remaining.

After Kanab’s Kason Janes made a clutch steal with just over one minute left, Janes was whistled for his fifth personal foul, sending Robinson to the free throw line again. He missed the first but made the second, pushing the Rams’ lead to two points, 55-53 with 1:00 left.

Parowan vs. Kanab, 2A boys basketball state championship, Taylorsville, Utah, Feb. 25, 2023 | Photo courtesy of David B. Mineer, Sr., St. George News

Kanab then missed its next field goal attempt, and Parowan regained possession. However, Glover then stole the ball at midcourt and went down for a layup that would have tied the game, but the shot missed with about 15 seconds left. 

After getting fouled on the ensuing rebound, Felder missed his first free throw but made the second with :08 on the clock. Kanab couldn’t get its last-second 3-point attempt to fall, either, and the Rams came away with the win.

The victory marked Parowan’s second-ever state title in boys basketball, with the other one coming back in 2004 — before any of the current players were even born.

“We knew it was gonna be tough,” Parowan head coach Rod Murphy told St. George News afterward. “We knew we had the potential to jump up and maybe even pull away even more. But the reality is, that it’s the state tournament, and no lead is safe. I mean, I don’t even think a 20-point lead would be safe if you got too complacent.”

Murphy said he tried to impress that idea upon his players at halftime, when the Rams were nursing a 29-23 lead.

“A six-point lead is massive if you manage it,” he said he told his players. “But if we don’t take care of the ball and we don’t value each possession, then that lead can disappear really quick.”

Kanab hit a couple free throws at the end of the third to pull within two points 39-37. Parowan stayed ahead for much of the fourth quarter, with Felder scoring inside to give the Rams a 50-44 lead with about two minutes left in regulation.

Parowan vs. Kanab, 2A boys basketball state championship, Taylorsville, Utah, Feb. 25, 2023 | Photo courtesy of David B. Mineer, Sr., St. George News

Kanab then went on a 6-0 run, making one free throw with 1:17 left, then two more with 1:05 left. That was followed by Glover’s electrifying game-tying 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime.

Murphy said he was glad to see Felder swish his final free throw after missing the preceding one, which gave the Rams a three-point cushion with 8 seconds remaining. Earlier, the star center had missed the front end of a one-and-one.

“Brock is phenomenal in practice making free throws, so when he missed those it was like, not here, not now,” Murphy said with a chuckle. “You just need one, right? Right at the end.”

Felder’s 32 points on Saturday night gave him 88 total points over the Rams’ four playoff wins.

But more important than his scoring and rebounding, Murphy said, was Felder’s attitude and leadership throughout the season.

“Brock came in and was like, coach, I want to win,” Murphy recalled.

“The leadership that we we’d been waiting for all season, it came in,” he added. “The kids bought into it and he took on that leadership role. Even in the locker room at halftime, he told his teammates that they were not losing this game.”

Also in the scoring column for the Rams on Saturday were Cash Mortensen with 10 points, Robinson with six, and Luke Millett and Hunter Bettridge with four points apiece. Kanab was led by Janes’ 20 points, with teammate Jordan Cornell adding 15 and Glover finishing with eight points.

Parowan had come into the tournament as the No. 8 seed, having finished the regular season at 9-10 overall, just below .500. The Rams then won all four of their playoff games to finish 13-10.

“Better late than never,” Murphy said, adding that the Rams picked just the right time to peak.

 “After the regular season, you get to start over again in the state tournament,” he said. “Everyone’s at the same spot.”

Parowan Rams’ victory parade the day after their 2A boys basketball state championship, Parowan, Utah, Feb. 26, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

The Rams opened the postseason on a strong note, defeating San Juan 50-36 in the first round in Parowan on Feb. 17. That earned the Rams a ticket to the 2A state tournament staged Thursday through Saturday at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville.

On Thursday, the Rams knocked off No. 1 seed Enterprise in a 46-40 quarterfinal win. The following night, Parowan defeated No. 5 seed American Heritage, 48-33, in the semifinals.  

Sunday afternoon, a few hundred people lined the streets of Parowan for a short celebratory parade, with as the players, coaches and cheerleaders riding up and down Main Street atop fire trucks.

After the 15-minute procession ended and dozens of people had gathered in front the bighorn ram statue at the school’s front entrance, coach Murphy addressed the crowd briefly, sharing a quote that he’d said to his players at the beginning of the season.

“This season has the potential to be something really great,” he said. “It will take every player doing their best every day to make this season one to remember. Hard work, sacrifice and team unity are the only options.”

“And they did it,” Murphy added as loud applause and cheers broke out. “They are state champs for the rest of their lives!”

Parowan Mayor Mollie Halterman, who was in attendance, said the players “exemplify the spirit of hard work, dedication and strength beyond themselves, for the team, for Parowan High School and for Parowan as a community.”

“They are true Rams and have made us all so proud of them and proud of Parowan,” the mayor added. “They didn’t just win it, they earned it!”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons and one granddaughter. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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