afrewind201
In life there’s no free lunch, and in Region 4 boys hoops, there’s no easy victory.
That fact was proven after American Fork fought through a strong Timpanogos effort to beat the Timberwolves 82-67 on Jan. 26.
Even with a 15-point margin of victory, American Fork needed strong efforts from Brady Mason and Jayce Ross to pull away after holding a 34-31 lead at halftime.
American Fork’s offense struggled throughout the first half in dealing with the frenetic pace set by Timpanogos’ defense as the Cavemen had problems moving the ball past the halfcourt line.
“We struggled with rebounding in the first half and we had to focus on that in the second half,” said coach Doug Meacham. “In the second half, we looked more poised and that allowed us to go to the foul line more.”
Mason and Ross turned the third quarter into their own personal showcase as they each scored 11 points in that period alone to allow American Fork to take a commanding 62-48 lead into the fourth quarter.
“I thought that Brady Mason wasn’t going to let us lose,” said Meacham. “Brady’s play on defense and on the boards gave us second chances.”
And American Fork needed second chances.
With the Timpanogos offense and defense both playing well, led by the play of Skyler Halford, American Fork needed every chance it could get after Halford led the T’Wolves on a 14-3 run that began in the final seconds of the third quarter and continued into the fourth quarter.
“We called the timeout during that run to get some rest,” said Meacham. “We told them to rest right now and attack. To be ready for their (American Fork) defense. I had guys huffing and puffing and we wanted them to go attack.
“Halford is a heck of a player and he scored all those points and did what he did with a lot of pressure,” added Meacham. “We constantly had a hand in his face and sometimes had two or three hands when he pulled up to shoot.”
The run allowed Timpanogos to cut American Fork’s lead to 66-59, but a field goal and a foul shot from American Fork’s Zachary Enosa as well as four straight free throws from Kellen Nicol allowed the Cavemen to extend the lead to 75-64.
Mason led American Fork with 23 points and added seven rebounds, five assists and five steals. Ross scored 22 points, including four 3-point shots.
“I’ve watched Timpanogos play,” said Meacham. “No one needed to tell me that this game was going to be close and tough. Timpanogos was in a one-point game with PG at their place with just a few minutes to go.
“Skyler Halford for them is very good at creating his shots, and can get it off with the smallest amount of space,” he continued. “Brady Mason wasn’t going to let us lose. His line wasn’t too bad for a point guard who has been responsible for getting so many others involved in the games up until this game. He can be more aggressive for us, but he really picked his spots in this game and was great.
“I thought that Jayce really fell into his shots the second half, and got into the groove that he can,” Meacham said. “Brandon Beddes came in with good energy and got a big steal and assist to Derek Danklef for a 3-point shot at a critical point in the game.
“This was an important game for us to protect our home court, ” the coach added. “We know that each game in region will be tough like this. I saw some progress though in our energy from our loss with Spanish.”
Jan. 26 — Pleasant Grove 69, American Fork 58: The Cavemen made a game of it on the road but the Vikings held on for the victory.
American Fork wasn’t about to go down without a fight, mounting a comeback and cutting Pleasant Grove’s lead to a single point.
That’s when Tallon Robertson took over. Robertson scored 15 points in the second half to help stifle the Cavemen’s late charge and led the Vikings to a 69-58 win in Region 4.
After falling behind 33-20 at halftime, American Fork came out of the break in a hurry, going on a 14-4 run in the first six minutes of the half to cut the lead to 37-34. The Cavemen got as close as a single point, 39-38, after Brady Mason stole the ball and hit Jayce Ross on a fastbreak for an easy layup.
But that’s when Pleasant Grove decided to make Robertson their go-to guy. Robertson, a 6-foot-5 senior, used his speed off the dribble to score and keep Pleasant Grove in the lead. Robertson finished the night with 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
The final nail in the coffin for American Fork came with three minutes remaining in the game. The Cavemen had a chance to cut Pleasant Grove’s lead to three, but a 3-pointer was missed.
On the ensuing push up the court, Pleasant Grove’s CJ Wilcox converted a three-point play, making the lead 55-46. American Fork wasn’t able to come close again.
The Cavemen were led by Spencer Shumway with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Zachary Enosa added 15 with six boards, and Ross scored 12. Greg Meacham grabbed seven rebounds and made four assists.
Mason was fierce on the defensive end for the Cavemen, swiping nine steals to go with seven points and seven assists.
“Pleasant Grove is a very good team, and I was happy with our guys’ effort the second half,” said coach Doug Meacham. “The first half, we lapsed on three big transition 3-point shots. That was the biggest difference in the first half, with the fact that we only got the free throw line one time.
“We have to be disciplined to not settle for the first open 3 we get,” he continued. “Sometimes we take early shots which lead to easy transition buckets for the other team.
“I thought Brady Mason did a great job defensively on CJ Wilcox, who is their leading scorer. He ended up with seven points, seven assists and nine steals. He held him to six points when he was defending him.
“Spencer was battling the flu, but was courageous in his effort. Zachary Enosa was very good for us inside; when he plays slow he is very hard to defend on the offensive end. He has a good feel around the basket.
“Our guards our getting better at throwing the ball inside,” Meacham added. “Jayce Ross continues to take charges for us; he is averaging one charge per game.
“We had a chance to tie the game in the fourth quarter but we missed a layup, and we just couldn’t get over the hump. We missed some key 1-and-1s down the stretch and some shots didn’t fall for us. When we aren’t feeling it at the 3-point line, we need to continue pounding the ball inside via the pass or attacking with the dribble,” he concluded.
“We did out-rebound P.G. 35-17, and we got more points in the paint 38-28, but we need to commit to the defensive transition for the whole game.”
Jordan Christiansen and Beky Beaton filed this report.
Girls basketball
Jan. 26 — American Fork 55, Pleasant Grove 52: The Cavemen made a late charge to pull out a thriller on the road.
On a few different occasions, it looked like the Pleasant Grove girls basketball team was going to win its Region 4 battle with American Fork.
The Vikings dominated the first half and had a 45-38 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Vikings were up 51-48 with 30 seconds to go and 52-50 with 15 seconds to play.
But looks aren’t everything as the visiting Cavemen pulled out a 55-52 win.
American Fork got two huge buckets from sophomore guard Haley Holmstead and another clutch game from sophomore Kaycee Mansfield, who had nine points in the fourth quarter to keep her team within striking distance.
In the fnal minutes, the Cavemen benefitted from a technical foul and intentional foul on the Vikings to take the lead late, then held on for the win.
The first half was sloppy, as both teams struggled with turnovers and inconsistent play. Pleasant Grove broke open a 14-14 tie and headed into the half up 23-16 after senior point guard Aimee Dorais hit a streaking layup just before the buzzer sounded. Dorais had seven points in the first half and was very active throughout the game, finishing with 13 points and a handful of steals.
“I don’t know who that team was in the first half and I let them know that at halftime,” said Cavemen coach Corey Clayton. “We got really fortunate at the end and had some calls go our way and we made some shots when we needed to.”
Something definitely happened at the half, as the Cavemen looked like a different team when they came out of the locker room. American Fork employed a man-to-man, full-court press that caused the Vikings trouble.
A Dorais 3-point basket extended the Vikings lead to 26-16 before the Cavemen went on a scoring streak. A 16-2 run gave American Fork a 32-28 lead, and then it was game on.
In the second half, both teams played with passion and emotion, as there was a lot riding on the game. Both teams were 2-3 in region play heading into the contest and American Fork had embarrassed the Vikings 10 days earlier at their place, 55-32.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Cavemen held a slim 32-31 lead. Pleasant Grove looked to assert itself as Krystal Carter hit a 3-pointer and junior Whitney Giles one-upped her, hitting back-to-back triples to extend the Viking lead to 47-41.
Mansfield then scored seven of her team’s next 10 points to keep it close, and she finished with 19.
“She’s (Mansfield) amazing; she does everything for us. She plays defense, she scores,” Clayton said. “I would like to see her shoot the ball more because she is such a great shooter, but she’s so unselfish.”
Trailing by three points at 51-48, the Cavemen turned to Holmstead, who hit a tough jumper over two Viking defenders. Kristy Giles hit 1-of-2 free throws to give her team the two-point lead with under 20 seconds to play. Giles blocked a Mansfield attempt with 15 seconds left, but the arrow pointed to the visitors.
American Fork executed an out-of-bounds play under its basket, and Holmstead scored and was fouled. Emotions flared and the Vikings’ Carlie Dixon was whistled for a technical foul.
Holmstead converted the and-one and hit 1-of-2 technical free throws. The Cavemen then got the ball out of bounds and Holmstead was fouled again and hit 1-of-2 free throws giving the Cavemen a 55-52 advantage.
Pleasant Grove had two cracks at tying the game, but shots by Giles and Carter came up short in the final seconds.
“I’m proud of the girls for fighting back because we were pretty much getting beat in all aspects for most of the game. It was a good win for us,” Clayton said. “We just don’t quit. They won’t quit on me. I know that.”
“They (P.G.) battled and they made shots; that’s a good team and they played well,” Clayton said. “I take nothing away from them; they deserved the victory as much as we did, I thought. It was one of those games where somebody has to win. I was just fortunate that we were the ones.”
Jared Hunsaker filed this report.