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The Timpview T-Birds (19-7) took on the Mountain Crest Mustangs (19-5) in the second game of the UHSAA boys’ state championship double header on Saturday at the Dee Events Center… and the way that the game started, no one could have guessed that the winning team would have scored in the 50’s.

The game got underway with neither team being able to gain any offensive momentum in the first period as the T-Birds struggled their way to a 5 to 4 lead. As rough as the start was for Timpview, Mountain Crest did not get on the board until the 4:19 mark of the opening period.

Although it was an ugly first period of play, Timpview took the lead in the closing minute and seemed to develop confidence as the second period started.

"The emotion from last night's game was carrying over, and we had to get settled in," said Timpview’s Christian Covey (talking about their semi-final win over Highland that went down to the closing minute of play).

The second period would prove to be the key to the game as the T-Birds snapped out of their shooting funk while the Mustangs remained cold.

Led by the scoring of 4A tournament MVP, Eli Robison (16 points), the scrappiness of Covey (nine points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals), and the defensive play in the post by Colby Jorgensen, the T-Birds opened up a 20 to 12 lead at the half as the Mustangs struggles continued.

The Timpview basketball team has struggled all year to find an identity. Knowing that they had the pieces in place for a solid basketball season but they got off to a rocky start losing four of their first seven games.

The T-Birds would recover from their rough start to win nine of their next 10 games, but still, the team felt that they were lacking the recognition they felt they deserved. "Everyone just talks about our football team, but our basketball team really wanted to win it this year. We knew we could because we're unselfish and we play as a team," said Covey.

The Mountain Crest Mustangs never could quite recover from their lack-luster first half in which they shot 26% (38% for the game) from the field. Although their scoring picked up in the second half, they failed to win any of the periods as the T-Birds stayed consistent on both ends of the court to build their lead.

After Timpview put the first period in their rear-view mirror, their offense recovered to shoot 50% for the game. Robison was joined in double figures by Josh Warner with 10 points as he also dished out six assists.

With victory in sight as the final seconds ticked down, the Timpview student section began chanting, “Just like football”,referring to the T-Birds also taking the 2009 4A football crown.

As much as “T-Bird Nation” brags about their football program (and rightfully so), the basketball team forged their own identity this Saturday afternoon. The title game showed the resiliency of this 2009-10 team as they fought back from a rough first period, much in the same fashion that they fought back after their rough start to the season.

After their convincing 52 to 43 showing, you can no longer just call Timpview a football school.