Despite slow start, Lone Peak boys basketball blows out A.F.
American Fork's Dallin Childs protects the ball from defenders during the first half against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
American Fork's Christian Wells goes up for a basket during the first half against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Lone Peak's T.J. Haws, left, high fives Eric Mika during the second half against American Fork at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
American Fork's Kyle Line defends the ball during the first half against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Lone Peak fans taunt American Fork fans during the first half at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Lone Peak's T.J. Haws dunks the ball during the first half against American Fork at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Lone Peak's Eric Mika dunks the ball during the second half against American Fork at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
American Fork's Christian Wells looks to pass the ball during the first half against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
American Fork head coach Doug Meacham watches the game during the second half against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
American Fork's Kyle Line drives the ball to the basket during the first half against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
American Fork's Dallin Childs protects the ball from defenders during the first half against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
American Fork fans cheer during the first half against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
American Fork's Dallin Childs goes up for a basket during the second half against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
American Fork's Tyler Rawson defends the ball during the second half against Lone Peak at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Lone Peak's TJ Haws, left, and Nick Emery double team American Fork's Kyle Line during the second half at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Lone Peak head coach Quincy Lewis signals to players during the first half against American Fork at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Lone Peak won the game, 67-42. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Thursday night in the Region 4 boys basketball rivalry showdown between Lone Peak and American Fork at the UCCU Center at UVU, the Cavemen came out on fire. The shots were dropping, the defense was getting stops and the large American Fork student section roared as it smelled upset.
Then the Knights got serious about defense.
Lone Peak turned to its 1-3-1 halfcourt trap to disrupt the Caveman rhythm and suddenly everything turned in favor of the Knights. The No. 1-ranked team in Utah Valley (and No. 2 in the nation) turned an early 13-2 deficit into a 29-14 lead and never looked back.
American Fork had no answer for the big Lone Peak push and the Knights pulled away to get the 67-42 win.
“We started really slow,” said Lone Peak senior center Eric Mika. “We weren’t talking on defense and we were flat. But we picked it up and started playing together, sharing the ball and playing together on defense.”
Knight head coach Quincy Lewis said he made the decision to go to the trap to help his team get going.
“We needed to wake up a little bit more than anything else,” he said. “We needed to wake up and get the game moving in our direction. Once we started doing that, we were OK.”
American Fork had also knocked down four early 3-pointers and the defensive switch took away those perimeter looks.
“It’s a rivalry game and they came ready to go,” Lewis explained. “They came out making shots. They have good players. They got open shots and they probably would’ve shot a decent percentage if they’d kept getting them.”
Once Lone Peak started stopping the Cavemen, it was basically a matter of time before the offensive talent got rolling.
Mika proved to be the catalyst in the early going, scoring eight points on the inside to spark the Knights on their big run.
“That first quarter my guys got me going,” he said. “We weren’t hitting all of the shots that we normally hit to start out but they kept taking it to the basket and finding me. We just try to share the ball and know we have enough guys to get the job done if we play like we should.”
American Fork head coach Doug Meacham said his squad just couldn’t corral all of the Lone Peak weapons.
“If we could’ve ended the game after the first two minutes, we would’ve been doing really well,” he said. “But they are who they are. They are a really good team who gets out on runs. I thought we beat ourselves a little bit. We made some mistakes and our turnovers resulted in dunks and easy shots for them.”
As they have all season, the Knights ended up with a balanced effort in the scoring column. Mika led the way with 16 points, while senior Connor Toolson added 15 points, senior Nick Emery had 13 and TJ Haws put in 12.
“Overall, I thought we responded well,” Lewis said. “I thought we got caught up in the emotion a little bit. It’s hard in these rivalry games. We did what we needed to do.”
Even though Emery had a bit of an off-night with his shot, his 13 points made him the all-time scoring leader at Lone Peak, according to the school. He needed 10 points coming into the game to reach that mark.
The Cavemen were paced by 11 points apiece from senior Christian Wells and senior Dallin Childs.
The thousands of fans who made the trip to support their schools got to enjoy a fun basketball atmosphere at the UCCU Center, the venue where both Region 4 contests between the two teams will be played. Both coaches said overall they enjoyed the chance to compete in a collegiate arena with a collegiate feel.
“It’s good and bad,” Lewis said. “You can’t ever simulate the high school environment, but there comes a point where it becomes so big that maybe it’s a better decision to get it in a venue like this. We were happy to play here.”
Meacham said: “What a fun environment. It was fun for a lot of people to be able to see the game. Any time we get a chance to play in a game like this, it helps us get ready for state if we are lucky enough to get there.”
Lone Peak (14-1, 3-0) now turns its attention to its last out-of-state trip of the year as the Knights head to Massachusetts for a pair of games on Jan. 21.
American Fork (10-6, 2-1) hopes to get back on the winning track when it plays at Pleasant Grove on Jan. 22 in a game scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Lone Peak (67)
Mika 16, Toolson 15, Emery 13, Haws 12, Frampton 9, Shumway 2. Totals 23 13-21 67.
American Fork (42)
Wells 11, Childs 11, Andrus 7, Bailey 6, Rawson 5, Larsen 2. Totals 13 11-18 42.
Lone Peak 18 18 18 13 — 67
American Fork 14 4 8 16 — 42
3-point goals: Lone Peak (Frampton 3, Haws, Toolson 3); American Fork (Bailey 2, Andrus, Rawson).