This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Copper Hills was a story of underachieving potential last season. Many expected the Grizzlies to contend for the state title, but instead it was a slow death that ended with an embarrassing 25-point loss to Lone Peak in the first round of the playoffs.

This season has been the story of no excuses. All year long, perhaps the greatest class to ever walk the halls at Copper Hills has played with the expectations of title or bust. So when the Grizzlies matched up against the Knights in the Class 5A quarterfinals, there was more than enough chalkboard material.

"We remembered when they were [up] 96-70 and still playing as hard as they can and running the score up," said Copper Hills coach Andrew Blanchard. "You're damn right we remembered that."

As it turned out on Thursday at the Huntsman Center, it was the Grizzlies' turn to return the blowout. Copper Hills manhandled the Knights, 74-59, behind a steady dose of the usual contributors to set up a date with Westlake at 5:50 p.m. on Friday in the semifinals.

Copper Hills led for all but 3 minutes and 29 seconds, while edging Lone Peak in rebounds (40-35), assists (7-4), steals (9-8), points in the paint (36-30), points off turnovers (16-12), second-chance points (13-12) and bench contributions (7-4).

Preston Sanchez, who started the game with two rare misses at the free-throw line, paced the Grizzlies in scoring, with 25 points. Charlie Olsen added 16, Porter Hawkins chipped in 13, and Stockton Shorts finished with 11 points and 17 rebounds.

"My teammates really helped me today," Sanchez said. "They helped me come off screens, get some shots, and good assists. It was all-around good."

The balanced scoring was a stark contrast from Lone Peak, which relied solely on Frank Jackson, who finished his illustrious high school career with 38 points on 14-of-30 shooting (2 for 11 from 3).

"He's one of the best players I've ever seen in Utah, and I've been here for a long time," Blanchard said of Jackson, who was also peppered with compliments from Sanchez and Shorts. "[The game plan was] to make him shoot tough shots, which I feel like we did. We shut the other guys down and got a hand up and made it hard for him."

No other Knight reached double figures, as Jackson scored 20 of the team's 22 first-half points. Lone Peak shot 33.8 percent from the floor, and clanked 5 of 34 attempts from long range.

Copper Hills built its cushion to as many as 15 points in the third quarter, and iced the game by pouring in the final 21 points from the line. The Grizzlies finished 32 of 43 from the line, as Lone Peak fouled to preserve the clock.

"I don't even know what to think," Shorts said. "We played our hearts out. We got defensive stops, made shots and made free throws down the stretch, and that's what really matters."

After postgame handshakes, Blanchard trailed his players, who hipped and hopped into the tunnels, not waiting to unleashed a bevy of elation-filled screams. Finally, with the coaches circled and waiting, he joined in the celebration.

And then, with the players already in inside, he turned to his assistants, switched his tone, and said, "Hey! Next game now."

Because there are no excuses this season.

Twitter: @trevorphibbs