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Ogden • After a 66-55 victory over Mountain Crest on Tuesday, a group of Maple Mountain players stopped briefly for a courtside photo requested from the stands.

It's not an every day kind of thing, but this wasn't an every day kind of event for the Eagles.

With the win at the Dee Events Center at Weber State University, the young school notched its first triumph at the boys' state basketball tournament. Maple Mountain (18-5) got the advantage early and controlled play throughout its opening round Class 4A contest.

Maple Mountain's only other appearance in state tourney play came in a loss to Mountain Crest two years ago.

"We shot the ball well from the outside in the first half. Sam Krommenhoek and Jake Dixon came out and hit some threes," Eagles coach Johnny Averett said. "And you have to extend on Kade Poulsen."

Poulsen also popped a three in the early going, but the junior's ability to blow by pressing defenders and head to the bucket was a critical problem for Mountain Crest (11-11).

By game's end, Poulsen had racked up 28 points and hit a stellar 19 of his 20 foul shots — with the last attempt rimming out for his only miss.

"It's a big victory. We came into the game with a lot of confidence," Poulsen said. "I felt comfortable coming into the game, since I had been here my freshman year. It helped a ton."

Poulsen wasn't only one player with uniform No. 23 to have a big game. Mountain Crest sophomore Jackson Brenchley, with a similar style as Poulsen, registered a game-high 30 points in his state tournament debut.

Senior Johnathan Huff added 14 for Mountain Crest, while Dixon contributed 14 for Maple Mountain.

Though the Mustangs trailed by double-digits through the majority of the contest, Mountain Crest did pinch the deficit down to nine points with 3:30 remaining after Brenchley scored a bucket.

But Maple Mountain's Abe Durrant ended a 10-2 run with a pair of makes from the free-throw line and triggered a 6-1 streak for the Eagles to end the threat.

"There's only one happy team at the end of all of this," Mountain Crest coach Graydon Buchmiller said. "But I do appreciate the effort we gave in the fourth quarter, because we certainly could've hung our heads and said, 'That's that.'"

Maple Mountain may be wildly inexperienced in state tournaments compared to more established foes, but the Eagles did win Region 8 and brought a top-seed into these playoffs.

"[Class] 4A this year, there's so much parity," Averett said. "We just forward to playing one game at a time and having fun up here." —

Maple Mountain 66, Mountain Crest 55

R Mountain Crest sophomore Jackson Brenchley scores 30 points while Maple Mountain junior Kade Poulsen racks up 28 in a Class 4A opening round game.

• Poulsen drills 19 of his 20 attempts from the foul line while the Eagles go 27 for 29 overall from the charity stripe.

• The victory for Maple Mountain is the school's first in the postseason. The Eagles' only other appearance was a loss to Mountain Crest in 2013.