Ogden • The Box Elder duo of Tyson Madson and Max Watson simply were too much for Provo to overcome Monday in the opening round of the Class 5A boys’ basketball state tournament at the Dee Events Center.
Madson and Watson combined to score 43 points as the Bees rolled to a 63-43 win to advance to face Corner Canyon in Wednesday’s state quarterfinal at the Huntsman Center.
“We wanted to make sure we got to the rim early and got Tyson the ball early,” Box Elder coach Jace McKee said.
And that’s exactly what happened. Madson scored the first six points of the game with all three buckets coming at point-blank range.
From there, Watson took over scoring 11 straight points, including three 3-pointers, to help the Bees build a 19-3 lead after the opening period.
The second quarter was more of the same from Box Elder. Watson and Madson scored the first 11 points of the period for the Bees to build a 30-9 lead.
“Those are the two guys we felt we had an advantage with tonight,” McKee said. “I didn’t feel like they had a matchup with Tyson, and Max is one of the top scorers in the state.”
Watson entered the game averaging 22.4 points per game and recorded 21 in the win. Madson finished with 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds.
“We were confident, but we didn’t overlook them one bit,” Watson said. “We came in knowing we had to take care of business and bring the intensity or they could come in and beat us.”
Watson said the Bees’ 19-3 run to open the game was exactly what the team was hoping to see.
“That was something we definitely focused on in previous practices,” he said. “It was good that we came out with that fire and intensity.”
Madson downplayed the success he and Watson had in Monday’s win.
“We just try to find the open man and share the ball,” he said. “And play as a team.”
Provo, which finished the season 9-15, was paced by Jared Perez’s 15 points.
