January 5, 2010
Message From the Publisher
For this issue, we look at the Lehi Pioneers wrapping up their final of preseason basketball play. Two of the stories involve the Lehi boys' team finishing 2009 with two straight wins. Our third story deals with the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, drying up the Pioneer girls' team in a Jan. 2 contest. Let's get to those stories.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Lehi Boys Post Washout Win Against Maple Mountain Golden Chirpies 88-44 Dec. 30
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Spots Weekly Publisher
In a non-league boys' basketball game at home Dec. 30, the Lehi Pioneers didn't show any bit of rust from their nine-day break during the recent Holidays. Lehi posted a washout win over the Maple Mountain Golden Eagles, AKA the Golden Chirpies, by a score of 88-45.
Lehi Coach Craig Gladwell said, "We played against a very young team. This is Maple Mountain's second year of existence. They have a lot of young players. Down the road, they will get really good. We have a lot of veterans on our team this year. Their experience showed a lot in tonight's game."
The contest opened with Zach Stanley getting the opening tipoff. Golden Eagle Cam "Don't Call Me Ringo" Starr pulled down a board, but the Pioneers didn't let Maple Mountain capitalize on that defensive rebound. Stealing the ball, Pioneer Jordan "Mr." McGregor sunk a layup to open the night's scoring. Spurred on by a Willie Walker bucket, Zach Stanley scored eight straight unanswered points to spur the Pioneers on to a 17-0 lead. A Josh Scott stuff shot pretty much hinted how well Lehi would dominate during the evening. By the time a Kelby Crandall free throw put the Golden Eagles on the board, they were already doomed to experiencing a long evening at Lehi. Starr and Jace Edmunds attempted to get a Golden Eagle rally going at the end of the first quarter. However, it ended with Lehi ahead 25-6.
For the second period, Cam Starr hit a three-point shot that sent Maple Mountain on a 12-7 scoring run. Jordan Rupp scored four straight points to spark a fierce Lehi attack on the Golden Eagle basket. Walker and Rupp paced the assault. It left Lehi leading 43-20 at the end of the first half.
Throughout the second half, Walker capitalized on the Golden Eagles' tremendous inexperience as he seized control of the boards constantly slipped through Maple Mountain's defense to sink short shots. Ryan Christofferson and Cody Hauver joined Walker in having a great night at the free throw lines. Their foul shooting put the game away despite efforts from Chris Clark and Cam Starr to make the contest closer.
Lehi had three players hit in double figures. Walker led the Pioneers with 16 points while McGregor added 12 and Stanley 11. The only Golden Eagle to hit in double figures, Cam Starr posted a score of 13.
Gladwell said, "At Granger tomorrow, we're going to be playing an endowment game. That means we won't be able to watch sophomore and jayvee games to figure out how to do against Granger. Our varsity is going to be starting out cold."
Pioneer Boys Hop From Behind To End '09 With Win at Granger
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
In a Dec. 31 endowment game at Granger, the Lehi Pioneer boys' basketball team hopped from behind to unhorse the Granger Lancers, AKA the Horsies, 54-49.
Lehi Coach Craig Gladwell said, "In the four quarter, our kids picked up the intensity. We made some defensive adjustments that worked, and we did a much better job of guarding the [Deng] Deng kid."
Deng turned out to be Granger's biggest gun during the course of the New Year's Eve game. The few spectators, who had turned out for the game, saw him constantly give Lehi hits inside the key and outside the perimeter. He hit a three-pointer that opened the afternoon's scoring. As soon as Pioneer Zach Stanley hit a trey to tie game at three, Deng broke the tie. Willie Walker and Jordan "Mr." McGregor's combined scoring eventually permitted Lehi to row ahead 12-10. However, two Austin Scott foul shots opened a 7-5 scoring run for the Lancers. They finished the first quarter with a 17-15 lead.
For the second period, Walker sank two straight field goals to tip the Pioneers ahead 19-17. A Deng trey put Granger back ahead 20-19 and sparked a 14-2 scoring run that created a 31-21 advantage for the Lancers. Their 10-point lead could have broke Lehi's spirit at that point. However, the Pioneers rowed within 31-25 as the first half's final three minutes wound down.
In the third period, Bakata Justin and Andy Vaovava joined Deng in battling Walker and Scott Henderson for rebounds. The Lancers held Lehi to seven points in the third quarter as Granger created leads as wide as 43-32.
In the fourth quarter, a McGregor bucket and a two Josh Scott fouls shots prodded Lehi to go on an 8-0 scoring run. It revived the Pioneers' spirit as they finally contained Deng. Lehi still had to deal with other veteran Lancers like Austin Scott, who had a great afternoon in both rebounding and foul shooting. A McGregor three-pointer put the Pioneers ahead 47-45. After Deng had tied the game at 47, a Zach Stanley trey broke the deadlock for Lehi. Deng still remained a threat to Lehi's comeback efforts. In the final 1 1/2 minutes, two Deng foul shots put Granger within 50-49. Walker put a shot back in, and Josh Scott swished in two foul shots to clutch the win for Lehi.
Pioneer Girls End Preseason Play With Heartbreaking Loss at Home Against LP Loners Jan. 2
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
In a final preseason girls' basketball game for both teams this winter, the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, dried up the Lehi Pioneers 67-57 in afternoon action at Lehi Jan. 2.
Lone Peak Coach Keith Flood said, "It's good to get a win at the end of preseason. It will give us momentum as we begin tough region play at Brighton this Tuesday. Whitney Stevens had a great day inside and outside the key. She went six for nine in shooting threes. Marquelle Funk in pulling down boards and putting shots back in."
Lehi Coach Troy Gifford said, "We weren't boxing out today like we should have. That's what hurt us inside the paint."
For the first four minutes of the game, the Loners dominated both inside and outside the perimeter. The combined scoring of Stevens and Funk produced a 10-2 lead. Even though a Katie Rogers bucket did tie the game at two, Lehi didn't become really hot until a Gabby Grantham jump shot set off a 9-2 scoring run for the Pioneers in the final two minutes of the quarter. Aided by a Chelz Atoa shot, Pioneer Jackie Cattani guided Lehi ahead 11-10. However, Mikayala "Mik" McChesney hit a shot just before the buzzer to put the Knights back out in front 12-11.
The second quarter opened with Rogers hitting a go-ahead trey for Lehi. Shots from Grantham and Briar Sands created an 18-13 lead for the Pioneers. However, Stevens' incredible accuracy outside the perimeter produced two unanswered three-pointers that put the Loners back out in front 19-18. The game stayed a seesaw fight until a Funk trey gave Lone Peak a 22-21 lead. Stevens' shooting and Whitney Johnson's rebounding permitted the Loners to stay narrowly ahead for the rest of the quarter. Foul shots from Sands and Rogers positioned Lehi within 34-31 at the end of the first half.
At the start of the second half, a Megan Hansen bucket sparked the Loners into pulling away from Lehi. When a Mikail Burningham trey gave Lone Peak a 47-36 lead, the Lehites looked as though the Loners would dry them up in a hurry. Sands produced a three-point play and sank a another foul shot soon afterwards to keep Lehi's hopes from collapsing. Rogers hit two free throws that put Lehi within 47-42 at the end of the third quarter.
In the final period, Johnson, Stevens, McChesney, and Funk paid frequent trips to the foul line. The four Loners' combined foul shooting produced a 59-47 lead for their team. Even though the Pioneers did manage to reduce the point spread back to single digits, they couldn't overtake L
Lone Peak. The Pioneers' effort received a hard blow when Cattani got hurt while battling for rebound. The closest the Pioneers could get was 63-57 when Aerin Ogden hit two foul shots in the final 30 seconds. A McChesney bucket put the final score at 67-57.
Stevens led Lone Peak with 22 points while Funk added another 12. Katie Rogers led Lehi with 14 points while Sands added 13 and Cattani 11.
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