This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Thirteen people had packed into one van, driving from Michigan to Utah. They rotated through seven drivers, and they stopped only four times, to eat, not to sleep. The trip took 25 hours and crossed 1,650 miles, and they had little time to rest before dragging themselves to the Huntsman Center on Saturday afternoon.
None of those people, including his mother Yvette Hoilfield, were going to miss Lorenzo Bonam's Senior Day, even after their plans to take a train fell through.
Bonam wasn't going to let them down, either.
Utah's only senior authored his most memorable game in his home finale, scoring 14 of his career-high 26 points in the final five minutes of a 67-59 win over Stanford. The win sealed an outright fourth-place Pac-12 finish for the Utes (20-10, 11-7).
As his mother watched, transfixed, from the front row of the lower bowl, Bonam gave her everything she could've dreamed of.
"I hollered so loud, I scared myself," Hoilfield said. "That's my son — I just love that baby."
So did the Utes, who gave Bonam a framed jersey and a bouquet at the beginning of the night. He gave them an ending that will be hard to forget.
It started when, with the Utes down 52-51, Bonam knocked down a 3-pointer to take the lead. After a pair of Kyle Kuzma free throws, Bonam laid another basket in to give Utah a four-point lead.
Then it got wild.
On back-to-back plays, Bonam picked a Stanford players' pocket to lead to a fast-break basket — one, a dunk after stealing from Michael Humphrey, then a pick off of Reid Travis for a lay up. In only 44 seconds, Utah's two-point lead had grown to eight.
Bonam wasn't done: he made three more free throws and scored another basket to secure Utah's final home win, clinching the program's fourth 20-win season in four years. His final basket came on an outlet pass from Kuzma, and was, appropriately, a dunk.
On a day when Utah shot 43 percent from the field, Bonam was 9 for 11. He also had four assists and three steals.
"It was like it was meant to be," Bonam said. "I told 'em I was going out like Kobe."
Utah tipped off having already won the fourth seed for the Pac-12 tournament after Cal fell at Colorado minutes earlier. But Stanford wasn't going to make anything else easy for the Utes.
Bonam's big finish was in stark contrast to a lumbering day on offense for both teams. Neither shot over 44 percent.
Utah's ugly start on offense was further hampered when junior forward David Collette exited the game after taking a shot on the crown of his head midway through the first half. Utah hit only 11 field goals in the first 20 minutes.
Stanford wasn't able to take advantage. Despite taking an 11-point lead in the first half, it finished the period without a basket in the last four minutes. Outside of Dorian Pickens' 20-point effort, only one other Cardinal player scored in double figures.
Kuzma was the only other Ute in double digits, scoring 16 points.
Coach Larry Krystkowiak called Bonam's final home game a fitting ending to an often grim story: Growing up in a rough neighborhood, Bonam lived through his father's death and his house burning down as a child, then found a circuitous route to Utah through junior college in Wyoming.
"Every day at practice, I'd remind him it was Senior Night coming up," Krystkowiak said. "He was obviously dialed in. We have to find a way to trick him that it's Senior Night again. Maybe we'll give him another jersey."
Hoilfield lived through those hard times, too. She's only been able to make a handful of games in her son's Utah career, and she was awed to see the embrace of Utah's crowd in the pregame ceremony honoring him. She's just as proud of his upcoming college degree as she is of his last performance at the Huntsman Center.
And Bonam — he's proud the family made the drive.
"They're crazy," he said. "It's a blessing. It's good to have family like that. In front of them, I had to show out."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Storylines
R Utes senior Lorenzo Bonam scores 14 of career-high 26 points in final five minutes.
• Bonam scores Utah's last five field goals.
• Kyle Kuzma adds 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Utah 67, Stanford 59
STANFORD (14-16)
Humphrey 3-8 0-0 7, Travis 4-8 1-4 9, Mar.Allen 3-7 5-6 11, Sanders 0-1 0-0 0, Pickens 7-11 1-2 20, Verhoeven 2-2 0-0 4, Sharma 1-5 0-0 3, Cartwright 2-7 0-0 5, Sheffield 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 7-12 59.
UTAH (20-10)
Collette 2-7 0-0 4, Kuzma 5-12 3-3 16, Bonam 9-11 5-8 26, Zamora 0-1 0-0 0, Bealer 3-7 1-2 9, Rawson 1-3 0-0 3, Johnson 1-4 0-0 2, Barefield 2-8 0-3 5, Van Dyke 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-56 9-16 67.
Halftime—Stanford 28-26. 3-Point Goals—Stanford 8-15 (Pickens 5-7, Humphrey 1-1, Sharma 1-1, Cartwright 1-4, Mar.Allen 0-1, Sheffield 0-1), Utah 10-22 (Bonam 3-4, Kuzma 3-5, Bealer 2-4, Rawson 1-2, Barefield 1-4, Zamora 0-1, Van Dyke 0-2). Fouled Out—Humphrey, Pickens. Rebounds—Stanford 27 (Travis 11), Utah 27 (Kuzma 6). Assists—Stanford 15 (Cartwright 6), Utah 14 (Bonam, Kuzma 4). Total Fouls—Stanford 17, Utah 12. Technicals—Stanford team.