February 23, 2010
Publisher's Message
For this week's issue, we look at two stories about the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, taking down the Awesome American Fork Cavemen and Cavewomen in American Fork's final home games for this season. Let's get to those stories.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
LP Loners Take Down Awesome AF Cavemen in Overtime Thriller Feb. 16
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Awesome American Fork Cavemen's home season ended on a heartbreaking note when the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, rode into town Feb. 16 and defeated them 59-54 in overtime during Region Four boys' basketball action.
Loner Chris Childs opened the game's scoring with an inside shot. His high accuracy with making inside shots made him and teammate Nick Emery the biggest threats to the Cavemen throughout the entire night. Caveman Jake Blackhurst answered Childs' first bucket with a trey. It set the tone for the entire first quarter. During it, the Loners secured leads of 4-3 and 7-5. Foul shots from Awesome Cavemen Marcel Davis and Ben Beddes tied the game at five and seven. At the end of the quarter, Loner Tannon missed both of his foul shots, causing the first quarter to end in a 7-7 draw.
In the second quarter's early minutes, a Quincy Bair foul shot put the Cavemen ahead 8-7, and a Davis jumper stretched American Fork's lead to 10-7. American Fork couldn't keep the Loners under control for very long. The combined marksmanship of Childs and Emery gave Lone Peak a 15-10 advantage. Brody Berry helped the Loners much through pulling down some key defensive boards for them in the second period.
After Blackhurst hit an inside shot, he pulled down a defensive rebound and connected a full-court pass to Ryker Mathews for a shot that put the Cavemen within 15-14. American Fork quickly squandered golden opportunities that Mathews' shot gave them, for they soon made a bad pass after rebounding an Emery free throw. Capitalizing on that turnover, Childs sank an inside shots to give the Loners a 17-14 advantage at halftime.
In the early third quarter, the Loners extended their lead to 22-14 on an Emery trey and a Childs layup. That was the biggest lead that Lone Peak would have in the third period. Successful shots from Beddes and Davis sparked a 7-0 scoring run for the Awesome Cavemen. When a Mathews three-point play had put them within 22-21, Childs put a shot back, making American Fork look as though it would again lose a chance to snatch the lead. The Cavemen didn't let Childs' handiwork discourage them any. As soon as a Childs bucket had put the score at 26-21, Bair hit a three-pointer, and Beddes evened the game at 26. An Emery three-point shot broke the tie. Rebounding and foul shooting by Colt Shumway permitted the Loners to take a 31-26 lead into the final quarter.
Two Beddes foul shots and a Davis bucket sparked a strong American Fork comeback in the fourth period. After two Pedersen foul shots had given the Loners a 35-32 lead, Davis tied the time at 35 through a three-point play. Two Bair foul shots put the Cavemen back ahead 37-35 in the final three minutes. Frequent switches in the lead ensued. In the final 40 seconds, Blackhurst hit a set shot that tipped the Cavemen ahead 40-39. Davis then sank two shots that could have clinched the game for American Fork. However, Pedersen hit a three-pointer in the final four seconds to force the game into overtime.
Getting the tipoff in the overtime period, Emery zipped away for a go-ahead layup as he got fouled. The Loner swished in a free throw. A Blackhurst trey tied the game at 45, but Emery hit a three-pointer of his own. American Fork came up cold at the foul line during the overtime period. Berry proved to be hot at the free throw line as his successful foul pitches provided the Loners with a lead wide enough for them to take home a win.
Emery and Childs led the Loners with 17 points each while Berry contributed another 13 points. Davis led American Fork with 14 points while Bair added another 12.
LP Loners Come From Behind to Defeat Awesome AF Cavewomen 54-50 in Region 4 Girls' Hoop Finale
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Lone Peak Knights' girls' basketball team didn't have to go into overtime when they won 54-50 on the Awesome American Fork Cavewomen's home court during a Region Four finale February 18. Lone Peak simply held up well under the stress of the game's final minute to win over the defending state 5-A champ.
The Knights, AKA the Loners, found themselves trailing the Awesome Cavewomen by as far as 10 points at various times during the night. To overcome this problems, Lone Peak Coach Keith Flood said, "We found we had to play better defense inside. We couldn't just block shots. Once we started playing better defense, we were able to get our offensive game going strong."
American Fork Coach Corey Clayton said, "in our region, every night is a tough night. Any team can take down any other team in our league on any given night. That was what happened tonight. Lone Peak played very well against us. We didn't play as well as we should have. Now we're going to have to focus on getting ready for state this Tuesday."
The game opened with Cavewoman Kylie Allen sinking a layup on a steal she made from Loner Marquelle Funk. An Amy Krommenhoek trey gave American Fork momentum. After a Laini Kalumbi three-point play put the Cavewomen's advantage at 8-2, American Fork looked as though it would soon blow the Loners out. Krommenhoek became the Cavewomen's big gun as her shooting gave them a leads as wide as 16-6. Loner Whitney Johnson trimmed it to 16-8 just before the quarter break.
In the second quarter, a Whitney Stevens trey opened an aggressive effort for the Loners. Johnson and Maddie McGrath led Lone Peak on a 7-4 scoring run in early Period 2. After the Loners had pulled within 20-15, Grace Farnsworth improved the Cavewomen's advantage at 23-15 on a three-point play. However, free throws from Funk and Mikail Burningham sparked another charge for the Loners. A Funk bucket put them within 23-21. After Krommenhoek sank a 17-foot shot, teammate Kenzi Moeai stole the ball and sank a layup to put the score at 27-21. A Burningham trey clipped the lead to 27-24 just before halftime.
American Fork's control of the game turned shaky in the second half. A Stevens bucket cut the lead to 27-26. That shot made the game's last two periods a story of the Cavewomen battling frantically to stay at least a couple of steps ahead of the Loners. They didn't let the Cavewomen pull any farther ahead than five points. From throws from Kalumbi, Hayley Su'a'filo kept American Fork narrowly ahead during the third quarter. Shots from Anna Hubert, Funk, Johnson, and McKenna Lusk kept the Loners within striking distance of the Cavewomen. At the end of the third quarter, Grace Farnworth hit two fouls shots and a field goal to give American Fork a 41-32 lead. A Hubert layup trimmed it to 41-34 just before the quarter break.
With the final quarter opening on Cavewoman Shelby Carson pulling down a defensive rebound, Moeai hit an inside shot that might have given the Cavewomen some momentum. However, after they had secured a 43-34 lead, they let the Loners go on an 8-0 scoring run, paced by treys from Johnson and Lusk. When two Hubert foul shots had put the Loners within 43-42, American Fork became faced with the prospect that if it kept letting Lone Peak pull within one point, the Loners would eventually ride ahead of the Cavewomen. After Su'a'filo had sank a shot, Funk answered it with a bucket of her own that put the score at 45-44. In spite of two Farnworth foul shots, a Stevens trey tied the game at 47. Krommenhoek broke the 47-47 tie.
In the game's final minute, Johnson tied the game at 49, and Stevens then picked off an American Fork pass. Flood said, "Johnson's biggest shot of the night was the bucket that tied the score at 49."
Johnson followed up her tying shot with a successful layup. American Fork received a chance to catch up with the Loners when Moeai went to the foul line. The Cavewoman hit her first foul shot, but missed her second one. A Loner rebounded it, and American Fork never got another chance for forcing the game into overtime. Johnson and Mikayla McChesney each sank two foul shots to clutch the game for the Loners.
Krommenhoek led the Cavewomen with 15 points while Farnworth added another 11. Johnson led the Loners with 12 points, and Funk contributed another 10.
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