Lehi Sports
Pioneer boys top Chargers to end regular season
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Lehi High School boys basketball team split their final two Region 3 games last week to bring their overall record to 9-13. The Pioneers ended up in a three-way tie for third in the league after getting a signature win over Corner Canyon on Senior Night. The Chargers won the first meeting by 21 points.
A lot of close losses plus a tightly-packed field relegated the Pioneers to the No. 13 spot in the final 6A RPI rankings, but that’s deceiving. By the UHSAA’s own numbers, only No. 2 American Fork and No. 9 Corner Canyon have played a tougher schedule than Lehi in all of Class 6A.
The Pioneers just beat the Chargers and lost by only two points on the road to the Cavemen the last time they played on Jan. 30. In fact, their last three league losses were by a combined nine points. This suggests that Lehi’s a very dangerous team and is going to be a tough out for anyone.
The Pioneers open the playoffs in the second round and away from home against No. 4 Layton (16-7), the co-champs of Region 1, on Friday (Feb. 20) at 7 p.m. If they advance to the quarterfinals on Feb. 25, they will face No. 5 Davis (15-8) or No. 12 Farmington (12-11) at 9:30 a.m. at the University of Utah.
Feb. 10: Lone Peak 62, Lehi 61
The Pioneers scorched the net with six triples in the first quarter to earn a 24-14 advantage over the Knights in their gym. They defended well, moved the ball with precision and took advantage of their strengths to build this early margin.
Lehi remained in control until their lead was 15 points at the 5:07 mark of the third period. From that time forward, Lone Peak hacked away at the margin until they moved in front by one point with 1:22 left to play and hung on to get the win.
One key Pioneer starter spent most of the game on the bench in foul trouble. The team dished out 16 assists against just four turnovers and did a fantastic job on the defensive boards with 18.
Junior guard Ashton Shewell tallied 19 points with six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Senior guard Trevor Anderson shot 86 percent from the field and hit three treys to finish with 15 points, four boards and three assists.
Senior guard Nate Rosenlof was equally efficient and finished with 13 points and four rebounds. In limited minutes, junior forward Tuk Howe scored eight points and got three boards. Senior forward Isaac Smith added four points and three rebounds while senior guard Tillman Huish dished out seven assists.
Feb. 13: Lehi 54, Corner Canyon 50
The Pioneers played an intelligent, balanced game against an opponent that was very physical and bigger at every position. They only got two long bombs into the net but the ball movement was excellent with 11 assists and they made four steals against seven turnovers with 22 defensive rebounds.
The teams battled toe-to-toe from start to finish, with multiple ties and lead changes. The margin never got any bigger than two possessions.
The Chargers had a slight advantage through most of three quarters. With the score tied at 37 at the 2:18 mark of the third period, Huish drove into the paint for a rolling layup to give Lehi the lead.
Rosenlof boarded a miss on the other end and Shewell capitalized with a circus shot that went in as he was knocked to the ground. Early in the fourth, a give-and-go from Howe to Shewell followed by a Howe triple gave Lehi the widest advantage of the night for either side at 46-41 with 6:20 to go.
Corner Canyon kept working though as the championship program they are, and the Chargers retook the lead 49-48 with 2:17 to play. The Pioneers finished the game on a 6-1 run including two free throws coolly converted by Huish with 18 seconds left to ice the victory.
“I’m so happy to be able to win against a quality opponent, especially at home, especially for our senior boys and especially with it being the last game of the regular season,” said Coach Reed Bromley.
“I felt like we competed from beginning to end,” he continued. “I also thought we made good decisions throughout the game. Ashton gave us points when we needed points. Trevor got us going in the first quarter with six.
“Tuk hit a three and another bucket in both the first and fourth quarters which were needed. Tillman stepped to the line and converted two critical and high-pressure free throws,” he said.
“From a rebounding standpoint, I was so happy with Ashton, Trevor and Tuk with seven rebounds apiece,” Bromley continued. “I had challenged Trevor to contribute on the boards. Tuk’s three offensive rebounds were huge.
“Nate did not have the type of game scoring he’s been having but he was so important anchoring us defensively,” the coach said. “I felt like the difference in the game was getting a few more stops in the later stages than we did in the first half.”
Shewell finished with 25 points while Howe added 12 with three assists and a block. Huish scored nine points with three rebounds and three assists.
“Now the focus shifts to our next game. Just like our season, they don’t get any easier as we play a very good Layton team on Friday,” Bromley concluded.
