No. 1 Barlow boys basketball bounces back to winning ways

Published 9:55 pm Wednesday, February 19, 2025

After a rare stumble, it felt like Barlow boys basketball was playing with joy again.

Hard not to win when you get to celebrate some thunderous alley-oop dunks.

The senior connection between Jalen Atkins and Brayden Barron was clicking, punctuated by multiple highlight reel plays against visiting Sandy. The best came in the middle of the third quarter (if you ignore a quick whistle from the official for a hanging on the rim technical).

Atkins got the ball on a steal and went cruising down the court. Rather than take the easy layup, he sensed his high-flying teammate trailing. So Atkins tossed the ball off the backboard, allowing Barron to snag it and throw it down with two hands.

“Our connection over time has gotten really strong,” Barron said. “When we play as a duo, together, we are unstoppable.”

Nothing was stopping the Bruins across the board, as they seemed to vent some frustration over a defeat to reigning state champs Central Catholic against the wrong-place, wrong-time Pioneers.

“We had to put away yesterday’s loss,” Barron said. “We just came out and played today.”

No. 1 Barlow won 69-36 over No. 28 Sandy Wednesday evening, Feb. 19, in a late-season Mt. Hood Conference bout.

“There was a ton of stuff we should have done against Central, so we just brought all that over to this game,” Barron said.

“We had more energy, more confidence, were hitting shots and playing as a team,” he added. “Overall it was better and we got the win.”

For Barlow (20-2, 10-1 League), Barron had a game-high 16 points with 8 rebounds; Atkins added 15 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists; sophomore guard Maddyn Cummings scored 12 points; junior forward Maddox Young added 9 points off the bench; and senior forward Mason Bierbrauer added 8 points (all in the second half).

For Sandy (9-13, 2-9 League), junior Logan Carpenter had a team-high 9 points (two 3-pointers); senior forward Brayden Sievertsen scored 7 points; and senior post Jacob Brown added 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

This game was supposed to be played last week, but the snowstorm led to the rescheduling. Thus the funky back-to-back games for both teams. Tuesday, Feb. 18, the Bruins had that rare blip on the season — a 68-60 loss to the Rams.

“We have to keep playing with this high energy,” Barron said. “Our goal is that championship, to win it all.”