No. 1 Barlow boys basketball avoids ‘trap’ with blowout of Sandy

Published 10:12 pm Tuesday, January 21, 2025

It can be hard to avoid the proverbial pitfall when you are the top-ranked basketball program in the state with dreams of hoisting that championship trophy.

Make that doubly so when on the road in the hostile confines of your conference rival.

But Barlow boys basketball deftly danced around the potential “trap” game against Sandy, securing a blowout on the road in which multiple players made important contributions.

“We have to stay in these moments — it’s my senior year so I am trying to take everything in,” said Barlow senior guard Jalen Atkins. “I told the younger guys how fast it goes by.”

Everything slowed just a bit as the Bruins relished an 83-52 drubbing of the Pioneers Tuesday evening, Jan. 21, in Mt. Hood Conference play.

“We played hard and had fun,” Atkins said with a smile. “There was a lot of joy coming into this game — we shared the ball and everyone made winning plays.”

For No. 1 Barlow (13-1, 3-0 League), Atkins had a game-high 30 points (five 3-pointers); senior forward Brayden Barron had 18 points; senior forward Mason Bierbrauer had 13 points, three rebounds and two assists; senior guard Blake Hills added eight points; and junior forward Maddox Young had six points.

For No. 20 Sandy (8-6, 1-2 League), senior post Jacob Brown had a team-high 26 points and seven rebounds; junior Hayden Harding scored seven points; and junior Logan Carpenter added five points.

What made Atkins happy were the contributions from several of the guys off the bench. At the end of the third quarter, sophomore guard Silas Gentry had a big 3-pointer that staved off a mini Sandy run. And at the end of the game, Young was a whirling dervish of points, driving into the paint where he used his strength and footwork to score three straight buckets.

“We have such a versatile group, so many guys come in and play basketball for us,” Atkins said. “We got guys coming off the bench who could start elsewhere. It is a blessing.”

The first quarter was a battle between the two stars — Atkins had 15 points and Brown netted eight straight points to cut into the deficit. Then the Pioneers seized momentum with a highlight reel play — senior Brayden Sievertsen stole the inbound pass, and flipped it behind his back while falling out of bounds to junior Jasiah Cochran for the buzzer-beater score, making it 22-16 at the break.

But then the Bruins ripped off a back-breaking 11-0 run. It was the defense that made the difference, forcing four straight Sandy turnovers during the stretch.

“We wanted to be aggressive and not let them get into the paint to make plays,” Atkins said. “We knew it was going to be a challenge — they’ve got really great guards — the guys took it on and we played a good game.”

At halftime Barlow led 42-24, and after the third quarter it was 57-40 in favor of the visitors.

“We want to win a state championship, but we have to get better every day,” Atkins said. “I’ve had some struggles this season, but I’m finding joy through it all.”

“I’m excited to keep learning, keep getting better, and keep playing with this great group of guys,” he added.