Boys' basketball: Monster effort sends Layton past Taylorsville

Riverton • There were several times when Layton's Jarriesse Blackmon appeared to be a man among boys as his Lancers played Taylorsville in the opening round of the Riverton Holiday Tournament on Friday.

Never was that more so than when Blackmon grabbed a teammate's missed free throw with his left hand and, still in the air, connected on a soft one-handed bank shot from about six feet out in one fluid movement — with a defender between him and the goal.

That play pushed his game totals to 27 points and 10 rebounds with 1:04 showing on the clock. In the first half.

Blackmon took only five shots in the second half, making four, and finished with 35 points as Layton cruised to a 91-74 victory over the Warriors.

"Jarriese has that capability. He has that potential to have those monster types of games," Lancers coach Kelby Miller said. "Earlier in the year, we had Brighton and he had 19 points and 21 rebounds. If he gets it into his head, he's capable of those kinds of nights."

A 6-foot-7 junior, Blackmon was the primary scoring catalyst as Layton (6-1) burst to a 12-2 lead to open the game, when he scored 10 of those points. Taylorsville (5-2) scurried back and closed to within four in the opening quarter after consecutive tallies by Remi Prince and Jevin Warren.

But the Lancers, up 16-12, got a big 3-pointer from Brandon Hill and then a putback from Mike Hibbert before the quarter was over to reclaim momentum. Hill finished the game with 14 points, and Hibbert posted 10 points and 11 boards.

"I feel like we're playing well right now," Blackmon said. "People weren't really seeing us as too much of a threat early in the season, but we've kind of come out and made a statement."

Warren's performance on the losing side was overshadowed by Blackmon, but the senior piled up 26 points and connected on four 3-pointers in the second half.

Last year, Layton did not advance to the state boys' basketball tourney at the conclusion of the regular season. The Lancers, according to Blackmon and Miller, are using the 16-team Riverton tourney as a way to prepare for the postseason.

"I love the tournament. There's a lot of good teams here," Blackmon said. "It's like a playoff format where there's multiple games in just a few days." —

Layton 91, Taylorsville 74

O Jarriesse Blackmon scores 27 first-half points and finishes with 35 for the Lancers.

• Jevin Warren scores 26 for Taylorsville, including four second-half 3-pointers.