Lehi Sports
Pioneer boys dealt 6A champs their toughest tourney challenge
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The No. 13 Lehi High School boys basketball team gave maximum effort throughout the contest, but the Pioneers fell to No. 1 Westlake 60-52 in the semifinals of the 6A state tournament on Thursday (Feb. 26) at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Center.
The Thunder went on to win their first-ever state championship in any boys sport after a dominant hoops season in which they earned a 23-3 overall record. During the playoffs, their other victories were by margins of 30, 15 and 16 points.
In the semifinal, Westlake scored first and got an early 6-2 edge. The Pioneers answered with a 9-0 run that featured back-to-back triples by junior guard Ashton Shewell followed by another long bomb from junior forward Tuk Howe for an 11-6 advantage. Lehi finished the period ahead 13-12.
Shewell continued his hot shooting into the second quarter, racking up 18 points by halftime. However, the Thunder used their offensive balance to work around the Pioneer defense and stayed in front of Lehi for most of the period.
Shewell made an evil crossover dribble to create some space for himself and hit his third trey to draw the Pioneers within two points late in the quarter, but the Thunder scored the last five points to take a 33-26 advantage to the locker room.
The margin got as wide as 11 points in Westlake’s favor during the third quarter, but Lehi refused to go away. Highlights of the period for the designated visitors included a steal by senior point guard Tillman Huish that led to a driving layup by senior guard Trevor Anderson plus a free throw.
A bit later, senior guard Nate Rosenlof shook his defender with a classic Euro-step and finished the play at the rim. The Thunder had a 47-38 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Pioneers continued to work. Anderson hit from long distance, and Huish forced a turnover by taking a charge. Huish then found Rosenlof for another triple with 3:15 remaining, which reduced the deficit to four points.
That was as close as it got. Lehi was forced to foul for possession and Westlake did enough down the stretch to come out with the win and advance to the title contest. Senior forward Isaac Smith made the final bucket for the Pioneers to keep the spread within single digits.
Lehi’s significantly-smaller lineup exactly matched the powerhouse Thunder’s combined scoring in three of the four quarters. The eight-point difference in the second period provided the entire spread for their win.
After being somewhat held in check by intense defensive focus in the first two tournament games, Shewell broke out in this one and posted a double-double of 24 points with 10 rebounds plus two steals and a block.
Huish added another strong floor game with seven points, six boards, five assists and two steals. He was absent for a month and hampered much of the season by his injury but was instrumental in Lehi’s late run when he was fully healthy.
Anderson contributed 10 points with his customary tough defense. Rosenlof guarded well too and provided six points. Howe made two blocks. The Pioneers ended their season at 11-14 overall.
“Of course we were disappointed, but I told the boys that there’s no shame in losing to the No. 1 team and we were in it right to the end,” said Coach Reed Bromley.
“What stood out tonight is the growth of the boys,” the coach continued. “Playing in a game against the best magnifies your growth but also highlights your deficiencies.
“I thought we started well, especially Ashton,” Bromley said. “To score 18 in the first half against their physicality and length is a real credit to his abilities. I also felt like Tillman really helped us get into our offense against a lot of pressure.
“After we got up with our early flurry, we seemed to lose focus a bit,” he said. “We gave up some things defensively and some rebounds along with taking some early and deep shots we didn’t need to take – the kind of things we’ve battled all year.
“The areas we needed just a bit more time to improve on came too soon,” the coach went on. “A few possessions of on-ball and off-ball defensive mistakes, some rebounds missed that we needed to get and unwise shot selection is what cost us that game.
“To me, that’s not negative,” Bromley said. “In fact, it’s positive. The opportunity to even be playing in that game is a testament to the improvement our boys made in all of those areas. We just had a handful of lapses in the game that cost us.
“Overall, I’m just so proud of the boys and my coaches,” he said. “I felt like our game plan was perfect. The game plan was put together mainly by my two boys. I am so proud of and grateful for them.
“Also, I can’t say enough about our seniors. I was grateful that most were able to share their moment on the floor together,” the coach concluded.
