After leading the Miners in scoring during a win over Tooele the previous week, Park City senior Jacob Layman was a bright spot on an otherwise difficult Tuesday night.
Park City fell 66-43 at home to Murray in its region opener, but the tall senior did what he could to keep a struggling Miners offense moving.
“It’s been a big responsibility, but I’ve kind of been waiting for this moment,” Layman said. “So, I’m going to take it to heart.”
Layman got himself going early when he knocked down a couple of shots in the first quarter and then added four more points in the second, including making a shot while getting fouled and sinking the ensuing free throw. The senior had eight more in the second half to complete a 16-point performance after scoring 19 against Tooele.
With two consecutive double-digit scoring games under his belt, Layman is oozing confidence as the Miners head into the rest of their region schedule. Park City is slated to face Brighton on the road on Friday and then visit Skyline on Tuesday before returning home on Jan. 13 to host East.
“Since last week, it’s been on a high,” Layman said. “Felt more comfortable with what I’m doing, just gotten my confidence back that way by scoring. … Just feels like I’m being consistent and that consistency kind of translates into the following weeks, I hope.”
Park City coach Thomas Purcell said Layman emerged as Park City’s starting center in the summer. He added that Layman is a little stronger and more comfortable with his body this year.
“Last year, I think his feet were just getting to know his hands, as is often the problem when you grow quickly,” Purcell said. “Last spring and summer, he became coordinated, he became stronger. He’s always had good touch and got even better around the rim. He’s got good hands, he can catch the ball. There’s not a lot limiting him from a physical standpoint.”
A true threat down low for Park City can help open up the Miners’ offense moving forward. Purcell explained the value of having a center who can consistently score as Layman has lately.
“It’s an easy game when you can just throw it into the big guy and then go back on defense,” Purcell said. “It opens up a lot of stuff. We’ve got to make that choice more consistently, not just with Jake but with our other big guys, too. If we can feed the ball inside, that will lead to opportunities off the dribble and opportunities for shooters.”
Park City struggled in its region opener against the Spartans. The Miners trailed 19-6 after the first quarter and couldn’t find a foothold in the game. Park City fell behind 39-18 at halftime, and the deficit was too much to overcome.
“We played a bad first half and gave a very poor effort in terms of taking care of the ball, which is something that we talked about,” Purcell said. “If you don’t take care of the ball, you usually give up easy baskets on the other end, and that’s exactly what happened to us. That was kind of the story of the first half.”
But Park City and Murray played a fairly even second half. The Miners were outscored just 27-25 after halftime, and Purcell liked his team’s effort despite the score.
“I think our guys continue to give effort, and I continue to be optimistic about their future,” he said. “They never quit, and I wouldn’t expect that to start right now.”
As for Layman, he’s enjoying having strong individual performances during his senior season.
“I was kind of nervous this season to see how it would go, but it’s going good, so I’m happy about it,” Layman said. “Just want to win some more games, just get a winning record.”