Lehi Sports
Pioneer boys top Sentinels, advance to quarterfinals
The Lehi boys basketball team used strong defense and all-around hustle on the floor to earn a 64-49 victory over Mountain Ridge (9-16) in the second round of the 6A state tournament Friday (Feb. 23) night at home.
The No. 2 Pioneers (20-4) now move on the University of Utah’s Huntsman Center, where they will take on No. 7 Riverton (17-7) in the quarterfinals on Monday (Feb. 26) at 12:50 p.m. The Silverwolves defeated No. 10 Lone Peak 55-49 in their second-round game.
In tonight’s contest at Lehi, both teams hit the floor hot and played pretty even through the first half of the period, but the Pioneers finished the quarter on a 9-1 run for a 20-10 advantage and never looked back. They led 33-20 at the break and 49-33 heading into the final stanza.
Uncharacteristically, Lehi didn’t shoot well from long distance except for senior guard Cooper Lewis, who had four triples among his game-high 27 points along with six rebounds and five assists.
But the Pioneers did everything else right. The team converted 53 percent from shorter range and 14-of-16 (87.5%) from the charity stripe. They had 17 assists on 23 field goals, made 12 steals against just five turnovers, and held the top Sentinel scorers in check for most of the evening.
Everyone who played made contributions to the victory in one way or another. Junior wing Easton Hawkins finished with 17 points, five boards, three assists and two steals while senior forward Grayson Brousseau added nine points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Senior forward Gabe Cowan made some big hustle plays at key times to go with nine points and two assists. Senior guard Bryson Bromley had five rebounds, three assists and two steals, senior forward Kaleb Moore got five boards and senior forward Cy Hansen had two steals.
For more details, photos and interviews from this game, check out the Feb. 29 issue of the Lehi Free Press.
