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Even the most experienced teams can be vulnerable to the pressure of the state tournament.

Defending 3A champion Wasatch avoided a quarterfinal upset Thursday by hanging on to beat Cedar 53-43, despite leading only 19-17 at halftime.

Senior point guard McKay Murdock attributed the slow start to nerves, even though the Wasps won the tournament last year.

"I was really scared there in the second half," junior Matt Pelo said. "I didn't want to go out on a bad note, because I remember how fun it was last year."

Pelo and senior Mike Brown, who has committed to play at Weber State, led all scorers with 17 points apiece.

Chance Bearnson led Cedar with 12 points.

The Wasps led by only four at the start of the fourth quarter against the Redmen — the No. 2 seed from Region 9 — and it was in that final period that Wasatch's leadership and poise emerged.

"I've got some really good, experienced kids," Wasatch coach Norm Hayter said. "They don't panic, they don't feel the pressure of the fourth quarter."

Judge Memorial 53, North Sanpete 35 • The Bulldogs used a 15-1 first-half run to separate themselves from the Hawks and advance to the semifinals against Wasatch.

For the second-straight game, Judge got past a team with more size. In the first round it was Hurricane, Thursday it was North Sanpete and 6-foot-9 center Dallen Bird.

Judge was led by Collin Lawless's 14 points, while Jacob Gondrezick added 12.

Ben Cook scored five points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and spent the game fronting and frustrating Bird, who finished with 12 points.

Desert Hills 67, Union 45 • Brandon Simister scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half to lift the Thunder to a berth in the 3A semifinals. Desert Hills trailed for much of the first half, before hitting its stride.

"We were a little stagnant in the first half," said Simister, the Thunder's point guard. "When we started coming off our screens hard we got some buckets."

Simister was among four players who scored in double figures for the Thunder. Tanner Atkin led all scorers with 17 points, while Tyler Ott scored 13 points and Jon Bodnar added 10.

Morgan 53, Richfield 35 • Morgan wasted no time jumping ahead of the cold-shooting Wildcats, taking a commanding 33-12 lead at halftime.

"The kids got after it defensively," Morgan coach Jim Wiscombe said.

Jared Brooks led Morgan with 13 points.

Casey Evans, who entered the game averaging 22 points per game for the Trojans, was held to 10.

boram@sltrib.com —

3A semifinals Friday at the Huntsman Center

Morgan vs. Desert Hills, 7:30 p.m.

Judge vs. Wasatch, 9:10 p.m.