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Boys basketball: Howe’s big sequence leads Weber past Woods Cross for 6th straight win

By BOB JUDSON - Special to the Standard-Examiner | Dec 17, 2024

PLEASANT VIEW — You have to dig a little deep to find steals on a high school basketball stat sheet but even that doesn’t tell the timing or importance of the theft.

Three-point buckets are a bit easier to find but still, timing can be everything.

Weber junior guard Ryder Howe combined the two plays in one impactful moment during the fourth quarter of a non-region game against Woods Cross on Tuesday night.

Tied at 55, Howe stole an inbound pass near the 3-point line, turned and launched a trey that found nothing but net at the 5:36 mark of the fourth period for a 58-55 lead.

Close the rest of the way, Weber never trailed and captured a 72-66, come-from-behind victory over the Wildcats.

“I feel like it’s all of us playing together, playing hard. It’s a game of momentum; when we play as a team we can do good things,” Howe said. “When I get going and am confident, I can make anything. There was no fear in that at all. I knew it was going in.”

Howe later went inside for a more conventional three-point play, driving the lane for a basket and making the resulting free throw for a 64-58 lead with 3:55 to play.

“I’m always confident in what I can do with my abilities; coach taught me when I’m open, do what I do…just execute it,” Howe said. “I’m undersized (5-foot-9) but I use it to my advantage. When someone is taller, I know I’m faster, so I can get past anybody.”

Woods Cross (5-4) narrowed the gap to 64-63 with 2:32 remaining, but Weber power forward Brandon Crockett followed with his own basket-and-one, and the Warriors held on from there.

Weber (6-3) trailed 55-48 after three quarters but outscored the Wildcats 24-11 in the fourth frame.

“When we got going offensively, our defense picked up. It works hand in hand and translates on both ends,” Howe said.

Howe scored 24 points overall, with 14 in the first half, then cooled off in the third period before reigniting in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t look at it about my personal points; I look at it as we get the win,” Howe said. “Even though I didn’t have that many points in the third quarter, my teammates still did good. We did our thing and that’s all that matters.”

Crockett checked in with 14 points for the Warriors and Ben Olpin also had double digits with 11 points.

The Warriors played from behind from the opening tip before Howe’s 3-pointer in the fourth quarter gave them the lead for good.

“After the third quarter, the coach said don’t look back. That played a big part even when we were down,” Howe said. “We still knew we could get buckets. It’s harder than playing up, but there was no doubt in our minds we would get the win.”

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