Lehi Sports
Pioneer boys begin with tough schedule
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Lehi High School boys basketball team got a win at the Corner Canyon Tournament of Champions Saturday after three losses to open the new season, two of them by single digits to highly-ranked teams. With just one returning starter, the Pioneers are building a new squad from the ground up.
Nov. 25: Highland 70, Lehi 52
The Pioneers made a decent start in their season opener on the road, trailing just 17-21 at the end of the first quarter. However, the Rams, ranked No. 3 in 5A, pulled ahead 37-23 by the half and Lehi was never able to close the gap.
Junior guard Ashton Shewell and senior guard Tillman Huish scored 12 points apiece while junior forward Tuk Howe added 10 points with three rebounds and senior guard Decker Yeager scored five with five boards.
Senior guard Nate Rosenlof had four points with four rebounds and five assists. Senior guard Griffin Reid collected three boards.
Dec. 3: Westlake 66, Lehi 60
The next opponent was the 6A No. 3 Thunder. The Pioneers led 17-15 with 1:15 remaining in the first quarter, but Westlake finished the period on a 5-0 run to take the lead.
Lehi was within five points with 2:12 to go in the half, but the Thunder again made a mini-run and took a 38-27 advantage to the locker room. They were ahead 55-39 entering the final period with Shewell on the bench for a good bit of the game in foul trouble.
However, the Pioneers weren’t done quite yet. Senior guard Trevor Anderson started the fourth quarter with a driving layup and Howe later sank a triple and Shewell got to the rim to spark a comeback.
Lehi continued to chip away at the deficit, and it was down to just four points with 18.8 seconds left after Huish drove in and made a circus-shot layup followed by a free throw. The home squad outshot the visitors 21-11 down the stretch but Westlake secured the win with two more free throws at the end.
Rosenlof had an energetic outing and finished with 18 points, six rebounds and a blocked shot to lead the effort. Even with limited minutes, Shewell netted 13 including a pair of triples with three boards.
Freshman guard Devin Sell added 13 points while Anderson posted 10. Howe had six points with five rebounds while Huish finished with five points and five steals.
“Nate was a different player tonight,” said Coach Reed Bromley. “We saw a lot more of what he’s capable of. There were so many positives from this game and so many improvements from the last one. I’m really proud of how hard the boys played and that they never gave up.”
Dec. 5: Bingham 68, Lehi 63
Next up was the 6A No. 1 Miners at the Corner Canyon tournament, and the Pioneers gave them a run for their money too, even though they ultimately fell just short.
Bingham started hot and led 18-10 at the end of the first quarter, but Lehi clawed back into the contest and reduced the gap to just four by the break. The teams dueled even in the third period, but the Miners were able to add one more point to the margin in the fourth to wrap up a close win.
Shewell was on fire, earning an impressive double-double with 24 points including five treys along with 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
Rosenlof added 18 points with seven boards and three assists. Howe netted 11 points and Anderson seven while Reid contributed five assists.
Dec. 6: Lehi 75, Meridian (ID) 52
After testing their mettle against three tough opponents, the Pioneers broke into the win column against the visitors from Idaho at Corner Canyon. The key stretch was a 23-9 run in the second quarter.
Shewell led the way once again with a double-double of 31 points and 12 rebounds. Most of his scoring came at the charity stripe. Anderson turned in a great all-around effort with 21 points including three triples plus five boards, two assists and two steals.
Huish also had a solid floor game with nine points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Howe added five points and three boards while Rosenlof had four points, three rebounds and four steals. Senior forward Isaac Smith grabbed four boards and Reid got three.
The Holiday Hoopfest returns to Lehi this weekend. See the separate article for the details. The Pioneers play at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Summer Creek (TX) and Saturday against Duncanville (TX), also at 7:30. The Lehi girls will play right before them at 6 p.m. both days.
