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It was looking like East's third straight blowout to start the season, but in the end, Orem proved to be anything but a pushover.

The Leopards (3-0) barely escaped with a 69-66 win over the Tigers (1-4), passing their toughest test of the season so far. It featured a duel between two of 4A's best sophomores — East's Parker Van Dyke and Orem's Jordan Darger — but rebounding and free throws down the stretch allowed East to ice another victory.

"We've had some poor records for the past few years, so part of it is we're still trying to learn to win the game," East coach Skip Lowe said. "We kinda need to keep chipping away and play for a full 32 minutes."

At the beginning, East looked as though it would run full-throttle past the Tigers as Van Dyke and Tanner Curtis looked sharp in the backcourt. The Leopards quickly accumulated a massive lead: At one time Orem was trailing by 20 points.

With a 37-21 halftime advantage, East was bowled over in the third quarter. The Tigers went on a 12-1 scoring run to close the gap to three points.

"They just started hitting some shots, and we came out flat," said Jack Larson, who finished with 16 points.

The biggest reason for Orem's surge was Darger, who had 21 of his game-high 30 points in the second half. The Leopards couldn't find a way to guard the 6-foot-5 forward, who managed to dig inside for tough shots and drew plenty of fouls.

"I've known Jordan since the third grade, and he's a great player," Van Dyke said. "He's really tough to guard, because he's big enough to post up on you or he can work ouside."

Junior Josh Pollard also added 22 points with his outside shooting, while point guard Brandon Erickson had 14 points for the Tigers.

But in the end, East's rebounding and free throw shooting was key. The Leopards grabbed several boards giving them second chances, and the team went 10 of 13 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter. Van Dyke, who finished with 24 points, had two free throws with a few seconds left to close out the game.

"There was a lot of pressure, we just had to move our feet," center Vaha Vainuku said.

"If we can stop playing a little lazy, we'll be a hell of a team."

Meanwhile, Orem was forced to swallow its third loss this year by three points or fewer. First-year coach Golden Holt voiced his frustration after the game.

"I think they wanted it a little more at the end, and we spent a little too much energy getting out of our hole," Holt said. "We're 1-4 this season, and we could be 4-1. We're tired of not getting any victories."

kgoon@sltrib.comTwitter: @kylegoon —

Highlights

R East withstands Orem's second-half comeback to improve to 3-0.

• The Tigers trail 37-21 at halftime, but go on a 12-1 run in the third quarter to close the gap to three points.

• Orem's Jordan Darger scores a game-high 30 points.