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Westlake's Malik Sika drives it hard toward the hoop during his team's 60-52 win over Lehi in the 6A state semifinals. February 26, 2026

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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Westlake guard Graydin Anderson had 11 points and passed out four assists during the Thunder's 60-52 win over Lehi on Thursday. February 26, 2026

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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Lehi's Trevor Andersen rises above the defense to score two of his 10 points during his team's tough 60-52 loss to Westlake on Thursday. February 26, 2026

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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Westlake's Brody Thompson goes up for two of his team-high 15 points during a 60-52 win over Lehi in the 6A semifinal round. February 26, 2026

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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Westlake's Malik Sika rises for a breakaway dunk during his team's 60-52 semifinal win over Lehi on Thursday. February 26, 2026

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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Westlake's Lincoln Norwood sustains hard contact in driving in the lane for two of his team-high 15 points scored during Thursday's 60-52 win over Lehi. February 26, 2026

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

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Westlake doesn’t reside in Region 3 anymore, although it’s certainly making the most in climbing past its old region foes in a march toward a 6A state championship.

In the quarterfinal round, the Thunder dispatched Lone Peak 82-67, and the very next day did the same to Region 3’s Lehi with a 60-52 win. On Friday, it’s back to Region 2, Westlake’s new home, where the Thunder will take on Bingham to win it all in the 6A classification.

“We’re kind of in a good position where we’re familiar with Region 2 and Region 3 now,” said Westlake coach Nate Carling said just prior to American Fork taking on Bingham in the other 6A semifinal game. “You know, we’ve had a lot of history there and recent history with Region 2 and Bingham on top of some old history with American Fork. But both great teams.”

Both Lone Peak and Lehi are great teams, too, with both programs having won state championships in recent years making Westlake’s win over both storied programs certainly impressive.

As for Thursday’s win, Carling’s team used a second quarter surge to go up at the half 33-26 and then manage to hold the Pioneers at bay until the final buzzer sounded.

But it wasn’t easy.

Although Westlake stretched the lead to double-digits midway through the fourth quarter, Lehi came storming back. The lead was cut down all the way to four points at one point before Carling’s players refocused and withstood a lot of physical play to secure a spot in the 6A state championship game.

“I was just real impressed with Lehi,” Carling said. “We played them three months ago and they’ve just improved tremendously. They’re a well-coached team with tough kids. And so they gave us everything they could handle.”

Fortunately Westlake presented several players that were tough to handle in their own rite, and perhaps specifically forwards Lincoln Norwood and Brody Thompson, both of whom scored a team-high 15 points.

“He probably doesn’t shoot enough outside shots because he’s just a great shooter shooting over 50% on the year from 3-point range,” Carling said of Thompson specifically. “… He’s lengthy, but he has the ability to kind of slow step it in the lane and make some tough finishes inside that are just real hard to guard. So to see him come out aggressive was a real big key for us tonight.”

Lehi was led by standout guard Ashton Shewell who scored a game-high 24 points and Trevor Anderson who added 10.

Pegged as the No. 1 seed at the beginning of the tournament, much was expected of Westlake, and through gritty tough play, it’s managed to meet those expectations with just one final test remaining on Friday.

“They believed it all along. I don’t think we’re surprised,” Carling said of his player’s emotions on reaching their current status. “We’ve had a little bit more favorable schedule this week. We’re not playing late into the night tonight, so there was some advantages that way. But it’s just a number. I mean, Lehi was a 13th seed, so they’re not supposed to be here. So we’re not thinking about any of that.”

Pleasant Grove’s stellar run comes to an unfortunate end

As a No. 12 seed, Pleasant Grove had been defying predictions during the entirety of its run in the state playoffs.

But the Vikings couldn’t overcome a frigid shooting afternoon in the 5A semifinals.

Bountiful’s Lincoln Smith made all the big plays, the only Braves player in double figures with 31 points. PG, meanwhile, simply couldn’t make enough shots, open or otherwise.

The Vikings finished just 11 of 47 from the field (23%) and were even colder from the 3-point line, where they were 4 of 26 (15%). In a low scoring game, a few of those shots going down might have made the difference in having a chance down the stretch.

Instead, PG scored just one field goal in the fourth quarter, going the final 5:36 without being able to get the ball in the basket and Bountiful pulled away.

“I’m just full of love and gratitude for this group,” Vikings head coach Carsen Williams said. “We know we’re one of the best teams in 5A. We knew we were no 12 seed, right? We had adversity and challenges throughout the season that come unexpectedly and things happen and sometimes you’re not at your best. We had our struggles, right? We knew we didn’t play to our potential for a really long time.”

The first half was a struggle offensively for the Vikings, who shot just 7 of 25 from the field (28%) and trailed 25-17 at the break. In the third quarter, PG finally got untracked and went on an 11-2 run, with five points from Brenan Blackett, to close to with one (29-28) with 1:15 to play. A basket by Jaxon Brown to open the fourth made it a two-point game at 32-30 but Smith, who scored 18 points in the final eight minutes, turned a steal into a layup and banged in a 3-pointer for a 37-30 lead with 5:46 to play. Blackett followed with a 3-point play to trim the deficit to 37-33 but that was the last field goal the Vikings could manage.

“The toughness of these guys has been displayed over the course of the last three weeks because we’ve been at our best,” Williams said. “We lost a game on our senior night–a game where we played really poorly–and we had a bye the week after. We had four days of practice and a lot of people would have gone their separate ways. These guys, they competed, they cared for each other, and that really set the bar for what came after that.”

Brown, a senior playing in his last game, led PG (15-11) with 15 points and Blackett, a junior, had 12.

“You know, these kids, they love each other,” Williams said. “They’ve made sacrifices. We were on a special ride, and tonight didn’t go our way. We missed shots that we’re going to make nine times out of ten. Sometimes that’s the game, but these guys just have so much greatness ahead of them because of who they are and what they’ve worked for.”

American Fork takes a tough overtime loss to Bingham

Despite coming through on one of the more dramatic buzzer-beating shots to send Thursday’s semifinal game versus Bingham into overtime, it ultimately wasn’t enough for American Fork. The end result was a brutal 69-65 loss which effectively ends the Caveman season , leaving players understandably distraught thereafter.

Despite leading for most of the game, American Fork found itself up against it toward the end courtesy of a late Bingham run which ultimately left the favored Cavemen down 59-56 with just 0.7 seconds left on the clock. Following a timeout Bridger Badger found himself open in the corner for a 3-pointer, which he deftly converted as the American Fork crowd went crazy.

But the flash of momentum proved short-lived as the Miners showed strong resolve in taking an early lead in the overtime period and then held American Fork at bay to punch their ticket to the 6A state championship to take on Westlake.

Leading the way for American Fork was Jax Clark, who scored a team-high 24 points and Bryce Mella, who added 19. Pacing the Miners was Luke West, who scored a game-high 32 points while pulling down 15 rebounds.

As mentioned, the Cavemen led throughout most of the game’s 32 minutes of regulation, and enjoyed a 34-21 lead at the break, and then maintained a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter and into the fourth. But Bingham came storming back, ultimately tying the game at 55-55 and then taking its first lead of the night at 57-55 with just 1:13 left in regulation.