Lehi Sports
Pioneer boys improving as they go
The Lehi High School boys basketball team had a couple of losses against outstanding teams in the annual Holiday Hoopfest but posted a 3-1 record at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas to finish in fifth place in the Baller TV Division.
Dec. 13: iSchool (Lewisville, TX) 82, Lehi 56
The Pioneers played toe-to-toe in the first quarter against a bigger team from Texas which opened the game with a big throwdown to punctuate the initial tipoff possession. The teams traded baskets and leads throughout the lively period, which ended with the Cougars holding a slim 20-19 margin.
However, the visitors earned a 16-5 run during a four-minute stretch in the second period to take control of the contest and went on to the win from there.
Senior wing Easton Hawkins worked hard for 24 points along with three rebounds, four assists and two steals. Senior forward Jared Martin showed some adept moves down low and contributed eight points, six boards and a block.
Senior forward Peyton Hawkins contributed six points and pulled down nine rebounds and senior point guard Cole Welchhad four assists.
“We’ll get what we can get out of this game and prepare for tomorrow,” said Coach Reed Bromley. “Hats off to them. We were able to move the ball well early but then there was a stretch when they hit shots and then we had to play uphill. This is definitely a learning thing.
“They put us in a position we’re not used to, and we just got lost,” he added. “Our leaders tried to do too much, and they had the advantage in length, strength and athleticism. Jared was a bright spot for us, showing good energy and good physicality.”
Dec. 14: Bartlett (TN) 70, Lehi 55
The Pioneers and Panthers dueled even through the entire first half, with multiple ties and lead changes resulting in a 31-all draw at the break. However, Bartlett heated up and built an 11-point advantage by the end of the third quarter and held on to it until the end.
Easton Hawkins again led the scoring with 20 points plus five boards. Peyton Hawkins posted eight points with 10 rebounds and Welch netted 11 points in the contest.
“I feel better about how we competed tonight,” Bromley said. “I thought our players showed much better maturity and poise in moments when things weren’t going great.
“Cole hit some big shots and handled things well,” the coach went on. “Our bigs were involved in a lot of the action and showed good progress. Tennessee took the No. 3 team in the country to just three points in their loss yesterday, so we clearly played a better game to hang with that kind of talent.
“We prevented some things and at times our offensive pace looked closer to what we wanted,” Bromley said. “You never want to lose, but these two games are going to help us in March.”
Dec. 18-21: Lehi goes 3-1 in Las Vegas tourney
The Pioneers got their tournament started with a solid 71-56 win over Silverado (Las Vegas) on Dec. 18. The next day, they fell to the Dr. R.W. Goines S.T.E.M. Academy team from Arlington (TX) 56-43 in the quarterfinal.
On the 20th they bested the team from Clovis (CA) 55-47 and then went on to edge Bilingual Christian Academy & Technology (Kissimmee, FL) 49-48 in the fifth-place game.
In the opening contest with the Skyhawks, Easton Hawkins finished with 15 points, five boards and seven assists while sophomore guard Saxon Young added 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting with three assists.
Sophomore wing Ashton Shewell had 11 points including three triples. Senior center Drew Durrant and Peyton Hawkins each posted eight points and five rebounds.
Against the Lions the next day, the Pioneers struggled to find the hoop from beyond the arc but the game wasn’t decided until the fourth quarter. Easton Hawkins had 15 points and four assists while Shewell added 11 points. Each of them netted three treys.
Easton Hawkins had a big outing against the Cougars, with 18 points, seven boards and four assists. Martin added eight points with eight rebounds. Durrant furnished eight points and seven boards while Young scored nine points.
In the placement game against the Lions, Easton Hawkins tallied 16 points with five rebounds and three assists. Peyton Hawkins added 15 points and six boards while Shewell had 10 points, three rebounds and five assists. Durrant posted six boards and Welch five assists.
The Pioneers beat Murray 81-64 in a late game at Olympus on Saturday (Dec. 28) as part of the Utah Autism Holiday Classic. Watch for more details on that contest in a future issue. The win moved the team’s record to 7-4 on the season.
Lehi has one remaining pre-region contest on Tuesday (Jan. 7) at Salem Hills at 7 p.m. The Pioneers open the Region 3 season at American Fork next Friday (Jan. 10) with the girls playing at 6 p.m. followed by the boys around 7:30.
