Lehi Sports
Pioneer boys punch ticket to final with epic comeback win
Down by as many as nine points at one time and still trailing by six with 2:12 left on the clock, the Lehi boys basketball teamworked together down the stretch to create a 10-3 run and pull out a thrilling victory in the semifinals of the 6A state tournament Wednesday (Feb. 28) at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Center.
The No. 2 Pioneers (22-4) will take on No. 4 Corner Canyon(19-7) for the 6A state championship on Friday at 7 p.m.
With the Mustangs leading 59-53 and the momentum seemingly in their favor after a couple of big makes, Lehi looked to be on the ropes.
Senior forward Grayson Brousseau was awarded a pair of free throws with 1:50 left and made them both. Herriman responded with another huge trey to stretch the gap back to seven points.
On the next Pioneer possession, junior wing Easton Hawkins found senior guard Bryson Bromley wide open outside the circle and he hit a triple to cut the advantage to four with 1:03 to go.
With 31 seconds to play, senior guard Cooper Lewis and Hawkins double-teamed the Mustang ball carrier resulting in a steal. Lewis was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made three shots at the foul line instead to pull his team within a single point with 23 seconds remaining.
As the Mustangs tried to get the ball across half court, senior forward Gabe Cowan committed an intentional foul with one to give to stop the clock. When the ball was thrown in again, Hawkins stole it in a scrum on the floor and called time out with 10.4 seconds available.
The inbounds pass went to Lewis but he was double-teamed, so he sent it to Cowan in the middle, who passed it on to Brousseau charging in along the right baseline. He made the shot while being knocked to the floor by two defenders with 1.5 seconds on the clock.
Herriman tried a full-court pass on the subsequent in-bounds play, but the ball was snagged by a waiting Cowan on the other end and the Lehi fans erupted in jubilation at the improbable win.
Despite being bumped around the entire game, Lewis led all scorers with 27 points while Brousseau added 12 points and Hawkins had 11. Senior forward Kaleb Moore had a pair of critical treys earlier in the contest.
For more details, photos and interviews from this game, check out the March 7 issue of the Lehi Free Press.
