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The stock market has been big economic news this past week, dropping sharply in early trading before bouncing up and down for the rest of the week.
That probably sounds all too familiar to the Timpanogos boys basketball team after Friday night's game at Spanish Fork.
The Timberwolves got in a big hole in the first quarter and still managed to have a shot to tie, but the Dons always found an answer on their way to the 68-60 Region 4 win.
"We stopped pushing the ball, which was getting us good looks," said Spanish Fork head coach Mark Bailey. "We slowed down and that got them back in the game. They got some tips and some turnovers when we didn't take care of the ball."
The home team surged to an early 22-7 lead behind its outside shooting. The Dons knocked down four first-quarter 3-pointers including three by senior guard Zach Clayton.
At that point, Timpanogos switched to a three-quarter-court zone trap defense that not only forced some Spanish Fork mistakes, it also made the Dons take longer to get into their offense.
"You have to give my team credit for the way they came back," said T'Wolf head coach Clay Anderson. "We sucked the life out of the game and at the end got to a point where we nearly had the chance to tie."
The visitors inched their way closer for much of the second and third quarters but every time Timpanogos got the lead to five or six points, Spanish Fork came back with a big shot or a defensive stop.
Spanish Fork led by eight late in the fourth quarter when the Timberwolves made one final, frantic charge.
Timpanogos senior guard Skylar Halford -- who led all scorers with 20 points -- scored five straight points to cut the lead to three with under a minute to play.
After the Dons hit 1-of-2 foul shots, the T'Wolves could've made thing very exciting but a good look at a 3-pointer refused to fall and Spanish Fork scored four more free throws to put the game away.
"We'll take the win," Bailey said. "There are things we can improve on and correct, but we have the confidence we can play with anyone."
That confidence is the one thing the Anderson said his team is lacking, as evidenced by the fact that it's lost eight games in the final minutes.
"This program has been down for so long that they are still wondering if they can win," he explained. "Until we get that confidence and believe, the close games will always go the other way."
Not only did the Dons make big plays, they had a number of players step up.
Senior center Juan Vergera led the team with 17 points while senior forward Devin Nelson added 13. Clayton had 13 point as well and senior guard Matt Gardner scored 14.
For Timpanogos, junior guard Trevor Thomas came up big time and time again, finishing with 14 points in the losing effort.
Spanish Fork (10-5, 2-2) plays at American Fork while Timpanogos hosts Lone Peak (6-8, 2-2) next Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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TIMPANOGOS (60): Halford 20, Thomas 14, Willman 11, Brown 7, McAllister 4, Blake 4. Totals 26 4-8 60.
SPANISH FORK (68): Vergera 17, Gardner 14, Clayton 13, Nelson 13, Naulu 6, Peterson 3, McVey 2. Totals 25 11-15 68.
Timpanogos 13 14 16 17 -- 60
Spanish Fork 22 12 18 16 -- 68
3-point goals: Timpanogos 4 (Thomas 2, Willman, Brown); Spanish Fork 7 (Clayton 3, Naulu 2, Peterson, Gardner).
• Pleasant Grove 55, American Fork 43: At Pleasant Grove, with the two rivals tied 23-23 at the half, CJ Wilcox hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter to help spark Pleasant Grove pull away and get the Region 4 victory.
"It was a typical grind-it-out, play-tough-defense kind of game you always get with American Fork," said Pleasant Grove coach Randy McAllister. "They're always tough."
CJ Wilcox led the Vikings (13-2, 3-1) with 13 points. Craig Tucker and LeSean Wilcox added nine apiece. Jake Murphy led A.F with 14 points. Zach Enosa added 12 and Josh Mooney 11.
AMERICAN FORK (43): Jones 2, Danklef 4, Murphy 14, Mooney 11, Enosa 12. Totals 19 4-5 43.
PLEASANT GROVE (55): Tucker 9, A.Nielson 3, L.Wilcox 9, Thurgood 8, CJWilcox 13, Allridge 6, Schlietwiller 2, Adamson 3, Tanoai 2. Totals 17 18-31 55.
American Fork 10 13 10 8 -- 43
Pleasant Grove 15 8 15 17 -- 55
3-point goals: American Fork 1 (Mooney), Pleasant Grove 3 (L.Wilcox, CJWilcox 2).
• Lone Peak 72, Lehi 37: At Highland, Tyler Haws scored 27 points to lead Lone Peak (13-2, 4-0) past Lehi (6-9, 0-4) to remain undefeated in Region 4. Justin Hamilton led the defensive effort with five blocks and 12 rebounds.
In the third quarter, Lehi cut the deficit to 11, but after a 15-2 run, Lone Peak spread the floor and kept control, running its lead up to 25.
LEHI (37): Smith 6, Henderson 15, Obioma 3, Swenson 3, Will Walker 10. Total 14 7-16
LONE PEAK (72): Payne 2, Hale 5, Tyler Haws 27, D. Smith 3, Pedersen 3, Sharp 8, Austin 2, G. Smith 2, Hamilton 8, Bracken Funk 12. Total 27 13-19
Lehi 8 8 11 10 -- 37
Lone Peak 15 18 18 21 -- 72
3-point goals: Lehi 2 (Smith 2), Lone Peak 5 (Hale, Haws, D. Smith, Pedersen, Funk.) |
