Beky Beaton, reporter from the Daily Herald (Provo, Utah) accompanying the Lone Peak Knights at the Arizona Basketball Challenge
12/30/08
Day 4
The Lone Peak boys are anxious to get back on the court after Saturday night’s loss. Coach Quincy Lewis isn’t generally fond of morning games, but this one can’t get here soon enough.Nate Austin wins the tip, and the Knights convert when point guard Tommy Tebbs sinks a trey, but they fall behind 10-5 after they respond to a pair of Desert Vista 3-pointers with a couple of turnovers and missed shots.
However, as I have seen them do so many times before, the team takes a collective deep breath and gets to work. What happens in the next 3 ½ minutes turns the game for good. First, Lone Peak ties the score with a five-point possession. Tannon Pedersen finds Nate Austin inside for an easy deuce, which he finishes despite being bumped. He misses the free throw, but Tyler Haws gets the rebound in the middle of three Thunder defenders. He pump fakes, then gets the basket and a foul shot, which is good.
Desert Vista turns the ball over with a double dribble. Pedersen then gets the ball to Haws on the left inside the arc. He takes one step back and buries the jumper. After the Thunder get a pair of charity shots to drop, Pedersen and Haws hit back-to-back treys from opposite sides of the court. The next trip up, Tebbs tips the ball to Haws for a steal. He loses the handle momentarily with contact while driving, but he recovers and still finishes the play without breaking stride.
It’s now 20-12, just like that, and Lone Peak continues to pad the advantage the rest of the way to win 83-46, despite using subs the final eight minutes of the contest. Desert Vista is the defending Arizona 5A state champion and marquee player Marcus Lever finishes with 17 points, but they were simply no match for the determined Knights on this occasion. The Thunder are a perfect 20-for-20 at the free-throw line, but they are held under 30 percent shooting for the game. After hitting 4-for-8 from long range in the first half, they go 0-for-10 in the second period.
Five Knights finish in double figures, led by Haws with 22. He got 20 of those in 13 minutes during the first half and is on the bench for the final nine minutes of the game. Tebbs scores 14 with six assists and four steals in his best outing since suffering a serious injury two months ago. He leaves the game at the same time as Haws. Dallin Ott has a perfect shooting night (4/4 fg, 2/2 ft) and nine rebounds off the bench. As a team, Lone Peak completes 60.8 percent of the field goals attempted, including 53.3 percent from 3-point range.
The players take advantage of the first truly beautiful day since we’ve been here to play a round of mini-golf and catch a show together in the afternoon, while Coach Lewis takes his wife and three small children to the zoo.
At 4 p.m., I come back to watch Dobson play the team from Federal Way, Washington, since Lone Peak will play the Mustangs tomorrow if they win. Unfortunately, they lose senior starting forward Mike Beuchner early in the contest when he pulls up lame while making a fast break and does not return.
Despite that, the game stays close the whole way. In the final six minutes, Dobson fights back from a seven-point deficit to tie the game at 58 with 1:45 to play. After two fruitless exchanges, the Eagles get possession with 1:15 remaining and play for the last shot. The Mustangs catch a break when they are able to steal the ball, but squander the opportunity by committing an offensive foul trying to go to the hoop over a Federal Way defender.
Given a second chance, the Eagles take care of the ball and find the net just before time runs out to win 60-58. Both teams have three players in double figures and are dead even in treys with six apiece; rebounds are almost even too. However, Dobson goes to the line 24 times, making 18 free throws, while Federal Way is just 2-for-4 and has to make up the difference with a lot more field goals.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the ABC finishes up tomorrow, though I will be leaving town before the final games are played.