Lehi Sports
Falcon boys play strong on the road
The Skyridge boys basketball team lost a pair of close Region 4 road games in the past two weeks and then fell at home to top-ranked Corner Canyon. The Falcons are 6-14 overall entering the final stretch of the regular season.
Feb. 3: Westlake 63, Skyridge 53 (OT)
The Falcons put up a good fight against the Thunder on the roadand led for a substantial portion of the close contest. They were ahead 9-8 at the end of the first quarter, 21-19 at the half and 36-32 heading into the final period.
However, the home team was able to take advantage of a couple of late errors to tie the tally at 48-all at the end of regulation. Westlake went on to outscore Skyridge 15-5 in overtime to wrap up the win.
Senior guard Mason Hunter led the Falcon offense with 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals while senior guard JJ Jory added 10 points including three triples.
Senior guard Cannon Jensen had a good all-around game highlighted by six points, nine boards and four assists, and junior forward Jackson Mosteller collected three rebounds and three steals.
“We did a great job at Westlake, controlling the tempo and playing really good defense,” said Coach Jeff Gardner. “We led most of the fourth quarter, but unfortunately had a couple of tough turnovers down the wire that allowed them to come back and send the game to OT.
“I am so pleased with how the team is continuing to work hard and improve every day,” he said. “There is no quit in these guys and they are continuing to get better. Cannon Jensen had a really nice overall game for us and Josh Davis did a great job battling their big guy.”
Feb. 7: Lone Peak 56, Skyridge 52
Things didn’t start auspiciously for the Falcons against the Knights. The teams both struggled to find the target in the first quarter, but the home school offense broke out in the second period and Lone Peak had a 28-14 advantage heading to the locker room at the end of the half.
Skyridge responded with a scoring burst of its own, netting 26 points in the third quarter and defending well enough to reduce the margin to a single basket by the end of the period. However, the squads went toe-to-toe through the final stanza and Lone Peak scored late to secure the victory.
Hunter scorched the net for 31 points including three buckets from long distance while Davis added 10 points and Jensen scored five.
“We got off to a slow start offensively,” Gardner said. “After trailing at halftime, we did a great job in the third quarter coming out and being more aggressive. Mason Hunter was phenomenal in the second half, scoring 21 points.
“I love the way we defended and played down the wire,” the coach continued. “Unfortunately for the second game in a row,the opposing team hit a shot with under 10 seconds to go to erase our lead.
“I still want to credit our kid., I thought they played really well down to the wire, but they just made one more shot than we did,” Gardner concluded.
Feb. 10: Corner Canyon 74, Skyridge 47
After two excellent efforts on the road, the Falcons weren’t able to contain the surging Chargers at home. They were down by double digits already at the end of the initial period and were never able to make a dent in the deficit the rest of the way.
Nine players scored for Skyridge but only one registered double digits as Mosteller posted 14 points and seven rebounds to lead the home squad offense. Hunter had five boards and he and junior guard Tate Larson added seven points apiece. Davis tallied four rebounds and three steals.
“Tonight was not our night,” Gardner said. “We got off to a slow start and weren’t able to recover against a really good team.
“We are looking forward to senior night on Tuesday and an opportunity to play one more game at Skyridge,” he said.
