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Top-ranked Lone Peak rallies past No. 2 Pleasant Grove in boys' hoops

By  Eric Butler
 | Jan. 26, 2018, 10:13 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Pleasant Grove's head coach David Evans. Lone Peak High School boys' basketball team defeated Pleasant Grove High School 65-61 during their game Friday, January 26, 2018 in Pleasant Grove.

Pleasant Grove • Top-ranked Lone Peak Knights earned a big mental edge over No. 2 Pleasant Grove after the visiting Knights took a 65-61 victory in a jam-packed Pleasant Grove High gym.

“I love playing here,” Lone Peak coach David Evans said. “The atmosphere is so great. They have the best student section.”

Pleasant Grove (14-3, 1-1) jumped to a 16-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and still maintained a six-point advantage at half. But that disappeared for good when, Lone Peak (14-3, 3-0) outscored the host Vikings 17-3 over the last 3:15 of the third quarter.

Pleasant Grove 7-foot-3 junior center Matt Van Komen finished with 15 points and a dozen rebounds, but the vast majority in both categories (9 points, 8 boards) came in the first half.

“We just talked about how we had to guard him a little bit better,” Evans said. “I mean his length is such an issue for us. He’s a foot taller than the guy guarding him, his arms are really long and he’s become so much more skilled from a year ago.”

The Knights started their game-deciding run when Taylor Madson scored on a putback then hit a free throw to tie the game at 34-34.

Madson’s adrenaline already was at full-throttle, evidenced by his free throw that was banked in, when Van Komen and Lone Peak’s Jackson Brinkerhoff tumbled to the floor at the Pleasant Grove end of the floor in pursuit of the ball.

Brinkerhoff’s head was enveloped by the arm of Van Komen, who was called for a foul as the two fell.

Madson wasted no time in pumping in a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the other end. He popped another trey only moments later, and Lone Peak was up 40-34 with 2:05 left in the third quarter.

“I was a little bit [fired up]. I thought Van Komen hit him a little bit cheap, but he’s a good player,” said Madson, who had 13 points. “That got us going a little bit.”

The visitors led 50-37 when Max Brenchley hit a pair of free throws to start the fourth quarter.

Pleasant Grove, which also got 14 points from Casey Brown, trimmed the lead to three when Kawika Akina got a basket and a subsequent free throw with 2:05 remaining.

But the Vikings got no closer, even as Lone Peak was making only 3 of its 10 free-throw attempts in the last 40 seconds.

“That’s very untypical,” said Evans, whose team was led by Chantry Ross’ 21 points. “But this is a great situation for them to be in;, to be in this state championship kind of level. Hopefully we’ll learn from it and get better from it.”

LONE PEAK 65, PLEASANT GROVE 61 <br>• Chantry Ross leads top-ranked Lone Peak with 21 points while Taylor Madson adds 13 and Steven Ashworth tallies 10 for the victors. <br>• Madson goes on a personal 9-0 run in the third quarter as Lone Peak grabs the lead for good. <br>• Pleasant Grove 7-foot-3 junior Matt Van Komen scores 15 points and gras a dozen rebounds in the loss.
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