Catching fire: Lehi boys basketball wins shooting duel, pulls away to beat Salem Hills
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- Lehi senior guard Cooper Lewis shoots a shot during the non-region game against Salem Hills at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Lehi senior guard Bryson Bromley shoots a shot during the non-region game against Salem Hills at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Salem Hills senior guard Chase DeGraffenried dribbles up the court during the non-region game at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Lehi senior center Grayson Brousseau goes up for a shot during the non-region game against Salem Hills at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Lehi senior guard Cooper Lewis drives to the basket during the non-region game against Salem Hills at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Salem Hills senior guard Chase DeGraffenried goes up for a layup during the non-region game at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Salem Hills senior guard Chase DeGraffenried shoots a shot during the non-region game at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Lehi senior center Grayson Brousseau shoots a shot during the non-region game against Salem Hills at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Salem Hills senior guard Kolby Dyches shoots a shot during the non-region game at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Salem Hills senior guard Chase DeGraffenried (4) strips the ball on a fast break during the non-region game at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Salem Hills senior guard Kason Averett goes up for a layup during the non-region game at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Salem Hills senior guard Chase DeGraffenried gets fouled going up for a shot during the non-region game at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Lehi senior forward Gabe Cowan wins the jump ball during the non-region game against Salem Hills at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Lehi head coach Quincy Lewis directs his team during the non-region game against Salem Hills at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
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- Salem Hills head coach Blake Francom directs his team during the non-region game at Lehi on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.
If you like watching great shooters, Lehi High was the place to be Tuesday night.
Pioneer senior Cooper Lewis and Salem Hills senior Chase DeGraffenried put on a show, firing away from long range or making tough shots in the lane.
When the dust settled, DeGraffenried had drilled four 3-pointers on his way to 25 points — but Lewis had done even better. He led all scorers with 29 points including five treys.
“I’ve played against Chase since I was in third grade,” Lewis said after the game. “Our families are friends, so I know him very well. He’s a great player. A game like that brings energy to the whole building.”
Lewis also got a lot of help from a veteran Lehi squad and the talented but relatively inexperienced Skyhawks couldn’t keep up as the Pioneers pulled away in the second half to get the 86-68 win.
“I’m happy that we hung in there through kind of a tough first half where they played well,” said Lehi head coach Quincy Lewis, who is Cooper Lewis’s father. “You’re not going to play against a better shooter and shot-maker than DeGraffenried.”
Led by their senior star, Salem Hills started strong. The Skyhawks led 14-7 in the first quarter and only trailed 32-31 at the break.
After halftime, however, the Pioneers found their groove.
“I felt like (junior guard) Easton Hawkins got comfortable,” Quincy Lewis said. “He really came on at the end of the season for us last year. Tonight he had zero at halftime and then he really got going. I feel like that could be a difference for us this year.”
On the other sideline, Salem Hills head coach Blake Francom said he felt like his youthful team had stretches where they couldn’t get things going.
“We really battled in the first half and competed,” Francom said. “In the second half, offensively we’re not seeing things. We were kind of playing sped up and Lehi is a really good defensive team. They turned us over a few too many times. We shot well but those turnovers were wasted possessions.”
But even though the outcome didn’t go in favor of his team, Francom said watching both DeGraffenried and Cooper Lewis make shot after shot was fun to see.
“It was a fun battle,” Francom said. “They are special players and they make special plays. That’s what’s great about high school basketball. We’re grateful we have Chase on our side. It’s fun to watch special players play.”
One of the challenges for players with the abilities of those two is when to look for their own shot and when to focus on getting the rest of the team involved.
“You definitely want to be aggressive, but we’ve got a great team,” Cooper Lewis said. “I’ll throw it to those guys if they’re open wide open any day. If it’s open, I’m going to take it because that’s a team play. But I’ll make whatever team play is necessary.”
Qunicy Lewis has guided many incredible scorers during his high school and college basketball coaching career, guys like former BYU stars Tyler and TJ Haws, for example.
He said that there is a balance between individual aggressiveness and making sure everyone on the team is involved, but he is also willing to give a great shooter a little leeway in finding it.
“I’ve seen a few,” Quincy Lewis said. “You have to trust them a little bit. You have to give them a few ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ cards. If you want to get the most out of them, you have to let them go just a little.
“There are a few shots that maybe you don’t like, but as long as you’ve got a good percentage at the end of day I can swallow a couple of bad shot. I think they probably look at it the same way. It’s a confidence thing. You don’t want kids looking over their shoulder.”
This was the first game of the year for Lehi, so while the Pioneer players and coaches were happy to get the win they know there are things they want to build on.
“This was a good one to kind of get us going and let us know that we have got to be ready,” Lewis said. “Everybody’s going to give you a shot, especially if you get ranked high.”
Francom’s Skyhawks have lost games to 6A teams Skyridge and now Lehi to start the year, but he hopes the tough slate will pay dividends.
“I hope they gain a little bit of confidence that we can compete with these teams,” Francom said. “We can beat good teams, but we have to finish games and have to take care of the ball. I hope we learned those lessons.”
