‘You’re not thinking about the stats’: Miller, Fullmer detail Layton’s 84-71 road win at Weber
Lancers remain Region 1 unbeatens; Warriors pick up fourth home loss
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- Layton junior Chase Randall, center, defends Weber junior Ryder Howe, right, during a game Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Pleasant View.
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- Layton senior Jonah Fullmer (5) flies past Weber junior Derik Bowden (10) for a layup during a game Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Pleasant View.
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- Layton seniors Sam Romer (3) and Joshua Checketts (33) deny Weber senior Ben Olpin, center, during a game Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Pleasant View.
PLEASANT VIEW — Karter Miller and Jonah Fullmer are good trust fall candidates.
Neither of Layton’s star hoopers were taken aback, but instead satisfied, by their team’s 84-71, late-game victory over region hopeful Weber inside a raucous Conolly Gymnasium on Tuesday.
It’s not the margins but rather the faces attached to those numbers the pair track each night as the Lancers (14-3, 4-0 Region 1) keep their postseason aspirations healthy.
“It’s really hard to come into a place like this,” Fullmer said.
Leading at halftime, Layton watched Weber (11-6, 2-2) progress and make things interesting late in the third quarter with a home-court advantage swinging behind them. Still, Miller looked to the bench that’d propped him and his fellow starters all season long.
“We have other people on the bench that’re capable of doing it,” Miller said. “It’s playing basketball and trusting each other. You’re not thinking about the stats; It’s about the team.”
Still, Miller’s floor-high 25 points complemented Fullmer’s second-best 23 points nicely. Chase Randall finished with 13 points, Joshua Checketts added 10 points, Sam Romer added nine and Jack Godderidge chipped in four.
Fullmer’s contributions waited until the second quarter, however, as Miller and Romer lifted the Lancers early from the perimeter.
Layton hardly contained Weber on the other end to begin the ballgame, with senior Ben Olpin (16 points) leading the charge early, hitting two first-quarter 3-pointers. Weber looked to senior Luke Bingham (14 points), junior Derik Bowden (14 points) and senior Will Stratford (eight points) to fuel the stat sheet throughout the night.
Comfortable with his group’s effort, Weber head coach Landon Cosby said his team came prepared to do everything they could to re-steer the region course. Four of the Warriors’ six losses, including last week’s 77-64 loss to Syracuse, came on their home floor.
“We made our runs and just couldn’t get over the hump,” Cosby said. “We just couldn’t finish in the fourth quarter. … It was a great opportunity for us. We try to take it one game at a time and it was a great opportunity to get to the top of the region standings there.
“We’ve got to keep pushing forward. We’re doing a lot of good things and we just need to tighten a few things up and find a way to finish against good teams.”
Layton drew an empty possession to begin the third quarter and from there, Weber was hot on their scent. Outproducing the Lancers in the third, Weber enjoyed a brief one-possession lead thanks to Olpin’s continued success from 3-point land and entered the fourth quarter tied 64-all.
Miller collected rebounds and baskets alike to squash another Weber lead just a couple minutes into the final frame. Slowing things down at the free-throw line, Layton hung a nine-point advantage, its largest of the half, on the Warriors with little under three minutes to play.
Miller hit five of those seven fourth-quarter free throws to help the Lancers pull away with a fourth region win and Weber’s fourth home loss of the season. The sophomore leading scorer said the fourth quarter was prioritized after letting Weber find its way.
“Going into halftime down by nine and to start the fourth tied, it’s just the start of the game again,” Miller said. “We tried to play with the same intensity of the first quarter, the first half. It’s definitely that first possession because it gives us that leap above them.”
Layton hosts Fremont on Friday (7 p.m.); Weber packs up for Davis.
BOX SCORE
Layton 22 27 15 20 — 84
Weber 16 24 24 7 — 71
LHS (84): Miller 25, Fullmer 23, Randall 13, Checketts 10, Romer 9, Godderidge 4.
WHS (71): Olpin 16, Bowden 14, Bingham 14, Stratford 8, Crockett 6, Packer 3.
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
