Bingham Pickers

Timp Sports Weekly

February 21, 2012

Publisher's Message

This week's issue deals with two recent roads games which the Bingham Miners, AKA the Pickers, had split in Utah County. One of those games was the Pickers' win over the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies. The other game was the Awesome American Fork Cavemen's thrilling win over the Pickers. We will also look at the Froggies' huge home win over the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Viking' boys' basketball team. Finally, we will finish our issue with an account of the Riverton Silverpups drinking Lehi dry in a Region Four girls' basketball finale. Let's dig into the action of those games.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

magnanovelist@gmail.com

Bingham Pickers Bury Lehi Froggie Comeback Attempt in Region Four Boys' Basketball Feb. 7

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

Going into their Feb. 7 game at home, the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, needed a win desperately in order to keep alive their chances of going to state as a third-seeded team from Region Four. However, the Bingham Miners, AKA the Pickers, staved off a valiant, fourth-quarter comeback staged by Lehi, defeating the Froggies 76-67.

The game unfolded with Lehi fans croaking in tones of alarm, for a Cody Benson trey set off a 7-0 scoring run for the Pickers. Right after that three-pointer, Picker Connor "C-Will" Williams swished in two straight buckets, hinting that Bingham would strike it rich with a big win in the Lehi gym. Brad "Mr." McGregor and Colt ".45" Colledge each swished in a short shot that put the Froggies within 7-4. Just as Lehi looked as though it would be able to swim back into the game, Benson shocked Lehi crowds with his second straight three-pointer. He would hit another five treys before the night was out, helping him to become the game's top scorer.

Colledge and Blake Cleveringa guided the Froggies within 10-8. However, before Lehi could tie the game at 1o, Eric Hanney hit an inside shot that sent Bingham on a 7-5 scoring run. During it, Williams pulled down a defensive rebound and fed a long pass to Benson for a layup. Soon, McGregor fired a trey, which Picker Josh "Dynamite" Sandquist answered with one of his own, improving the Bingham lead at 17-11. Jumpers, fired by Cleveringa and McGregor, sawed the Pickers' advantage down to 17-15 in the first period's final minute.

In the second period's first two minutes, Benson hit a trey and two foul shots to mark the beginning of overwhelming Picker domination of the quarter. Colledge and McGregor guided their team within 22-19. Lehi couldn't get any closer to the Pickers. Lehi Coach Craig Gladwell said, "We just gotta find the intensity when we go into games against teams like Bingham. We ddn't have any intensity in the second quarter. We let Benson run wild in that period. Going into tonight's game, we already know what a good player he was, because of our last contest with Bingham. Still, we didn't show the intensity needed to keep him under control. We also took poor shots, and let them kill us on the boards in the second quarter. We just rushed things."

After a Cleveringa bucket had put the Froggies within 27-21, Williams sank two straight layups that gave the Pickers a double-digit lead. Led by Benson, Sandquest, and Williams, the Pickers outscored the Froggies 15-5 to take a 42-26 lead into the third period.

Lehi's chances grew dimmer in the third period. The Froggies came out cold in the early second half while the Pickers stayed white hot. Williams and Benson's combined shooting improved the Pickers' lead at 48-26. This inspired to Picker fans to believe that their team would put the game away early. However, Froggie Ryan Christofferson refused to let his beloved Lehi get drained by Bingham. First, he sank two foul shots, and he then stole a ball to open a 16-9 scoring run for Lehi. Cleveringa and Colledge provided the firepower needed to keep the Froggies in the game. Colledge produced a three-point play in the third quarter's final 10 seconds to cut the Picker lead to 49-45.

In the final quarter, Christofferson again sparked another comeback for the Froggies through sinking a 17-foot shot. Ryan Pittard swished in a layup that cut the Picker lead to 59-49. Free throws from Jake Bagley helped the Pickers to stay up by more than 10 for a little while. However, the combined efforts of Christofferson and Pittard reduced the point spread to nine. The stress of the Froggies' rally caused the Pickers to foul them frequently. This permitted Colledge, Cleveringa, and Christofferson to chip away at Bingham's lead during visits to the foul line. Soon a Colledge trey cut the lead to 68-65. McGregor then stole the ball and passed to Christofferson for a layup that put the Foggies within 68-67 during the final minute. Lehi fans croaked with excitement. With their team so close to hopping ahead, they looked forward to celebrating a victory immediately after the final buzzer. However, the Pioneers suddenly shot themselves in the flipper. During the game's final 45 seconds, they repeatedly sent Pickers to the foul line. Through the foul shooting of Benson, Bagley, and Dalton Shultz, Bingham scored eight consecutive free points to lock up the game.

Colledge poured in 19 points to lead Lehi while Cleveringa added another 17, Christofferson 14, and McGregor 11. Benson became the Pickers' top scorer with 31 points while Williams added another 17.

Awesome AF Cavemen Defeat Bingham Pickers 67-41 in Region 4 Boys' Hoop Action Feb. 17

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

After having drained Lehi 10 days before, the Bingham Miners, AKA the Pickers, came back to Utah County Feb. 17, expecting to dig out another big win. However, the Pickers' effort caved in on them, for their hosts, the Awesome American Fork Cavemen, buried them alive 67-41.

Two generations of fierce rivalry existed between the two teams. Twice in the past 38 years, the Pickers had defeated the Awesome Cavemen for state championship titles. However, with no Brian "Axel" Hardy on the team this year, the Pickers got clubbed severely by American Fork during the first half.

Having learned what Cody Benson had done against the Lehi Pioineers, AKA the Froggies, on Feb. 7, the Awesome Cavemen took steps to ensure that he did very little damage. Awesome Cavemen like Morgan "Mo" Flinders and Marcel Davis held that Picker to nine points for the night. Conner "C-Will" Williams came forward, though, to become the Pickers' biggest gun for the night. He pumped in 18 points, but his shooting could not save Pickers from the clubbing that the Awesome Cavemen administered to them in the first half. American Fork outscored Bingham 21-12 in the first quarter and 12-5 in the second period.

In the second half, Austin "Super Powers" Waddoups walloped the Pickers through hitting two straight three-pointers that enabled his Awesome Cavemen to stay more than 20 points ahead of Bingham. Austin's efforts were enough to make American Fork fans feel like shout, "Ah, yeah, baby!"

A distant cousin of Hollywood actress Ursula Andrus, Ryan Andrus held on his own on the board against Williams and fellow Picker Josh Sandquist. Andrus put back in two shots.

Late in the final quarter, Davis tried to sink a dunk shot, but he missed it, and ended up hanging from the rim. The referees assessed him with a technical foul for doing that. However, that technical didn't do the Awesome Cavemen any harm, for their they continued staying more than 25 points ahead clear to the final buzzer.

Waddoups led the Awesome Cavenmen with 20 points while Davis added another 14 and Bair 12.

Riverton Silverpups Drain Lehi 73-25 In Region Four Girls' Basketball Finale

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

This year's Region Four girls' basketball champs, the Riverton Silverwolves, AKA the Silverpups, drained the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, 73-25.

The game's outcome didn't come out as much as a surprise. Riverton took an unbeaten league record into the game. Lehi, on the other hand, hopped into the contest with a winless, league record. The Froggies' only win this season had occurred over the Kearns Cougars, AKA the Kittens, last December.

The game opened with Silverpup Gerika Ballard pumping in a set shot. With Lehi's first string comprising entirely of seniors, the Froggies wasted no time in tying the score. Vicky Sandmire tied the game at two on a 15-foot, baseline shot. It should have stirred up a strong Froggie effort to go on a shooting spree. However, before Lehi could break the deadlock, Silverpup Whitney Saunders broke the tie. The Froggies went ice cold. Morganne Campbell, Jamie Thomas, and Ballard frequently beat Lehi players to rebounds. Also, the Silverpups howled out to a 20-2 lead. Kenzio Arviso sank two foul shots to open a 6-4 scoring run for the Froggies in the period's final two minutes. Ninth-grader To'a Faleoa scored on an offensive rebound, and Beth Beeston swished in two foul shots to put Lehi within 24-8 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second period, the Silverpups held the Froggies to five points. Four of those points came from Faleao. Arviso swished in the fifth point on a foul shot. During that period, Pume Currie's shooting and rebounding helped the Silverpups score 15 points.

Taking a 39-13 lead into the second half, Riverton held Lehi scoreless for the entire third quarter while the Silverpups tacked on another 18 points.

At the start of the fourth quarter, a Sandmire bucket lifted Lehi's scoring drought, and the Froggies carried out a rally. Kate Puzey came up with steals for her Froggies while her teammate Kylie Smith scored on two offensive rebounds. However, the Froggies had already fallen so far behind that they had no chance of being able to leap back to win the game. At the end of the game, the Riverton bench sent in its third-stringers like Morgan Littlewood and Rachel McDougal to mop up Lehi.

Sandmire led Lehi with eight points while Falaeo added another six and Arviso five. Saunders led the Silverpups with 16 points while Ballard added another 14.

Lehi Froggies Sink Ferocious PG Vikings' Playoff Hopes Feb. 10

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, showed a lot of character in their final boys' home game Feb. 10 when they sunk the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings 76-51 in Region Four action.

Besides being a morale-builder in the aftermath of the home loss to the Bingham Miners, AKA the Pickers, Feb. 7, the Froggies' win was a going-away present for their soon-to-be ex-head coach, Craig Gladwell. He said, "I'm going to be retiring from both coaching and teaching this year."

He was given a small gift during a brief, pre-game program honoring this year's seniors on the Lehi team.

The Froggies demonstrated in the first quarter's opening minutes that they had completely recovered from the loss to Bingham. Brad "Mr." McGregor and Colt ".45" Colledge quickly produced a 4-0 lead for the Froggies. Pleasant Grove's Al Hamson cut the lead to 4-2, but Braxton Nerdin, son of former Awesome American Fork Caveman Dave "Nerd" Nerdin, hit a trey that got the Froggies jumping for joy. Ryan Christofferson hit a short shot and trey that created a 12-6 lead for Lehi.

Pleasant Grove's Nate Sampson kept his Ferocious Vikings in the game for a while. Sampson's efforts enabled Hamson to put the Ferocious Vikings within 12-11. McGregor sank a layup that opened a 12-2 scoring run for the Froggies. During it, Hamson cut the lead to 14-13. Suddenly, Nerdin hit his second trey. It sparked the Froggies into building up a 24-13 lead.

In the early second quarter, Hamson's shooting and rebounding permitted the Ferocious Vikings to sail within 27-18. A Ryan Pittard shot gave the Froggies another double-digit lead. However, after they had put the score at 28-18, they saw the Ferocious Vikings go on a 6-3 scoring run led by Hamson. Forest "Gump" Pinnock hit four straight unanswered shots that cut the Froggies' advantage to 31-24.

At the start of the third period, McGregor hit a three-point jumper that gave the Froggies another 10-point. For most of that quarter, Lehi stayed up by at least 10 points. Shots from Hamson and Pinnock put the Ferocious Vikings within eight points. After Pleasant Grove had rowed within 41-33, McGregor hit two foul shots that set 15-2 scoring run led by Blake Cleveringa. That rally doomed Pleasant Grove and its final hopes for post-season play. With Cleveringa putting the score at 56-35 on an offensive rebound at the third quarter's end, the Froggies stayed more than 20 points ahead for the rest or the game. In the fourth quarter, Trevor Christensen sank two straight three-pointers for the Froggies. After the game, joyous Lehi students put him on their shoulders to show him off as if he as the title character of the 1990's film classic Rudy.

Gladwell said, "It was an important game for us tonight, and it was great to see our kids come back to play well after the loss to Bingham two nights ago. They had a lot of intensity tonight.

Colledge led Lehi with 15 points while McGregor had 13, Christofferson 12, and Nerdin 11. Pinock led Pleasant Grove with 13 points while Sampson and Hamson each added another 11.