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Show Times Newspaper Thursday, March 4, 2004 n DD1 J Buzzer-beater lifts Lone Peak over T-wolves Page B2 LANDON OLSON Times Sports Editor Lone Peak has made a habit of hitting game winning shots this season, but Feb. 24 at Timpanogos, the Knights got two chances. With the score knotted 57-57 and 8.5 seconds remaining, Lone Peak inbounded to attempt the winning shot, but, as action wound down and time would have expired, referees blew the play dead. The clock hadn't started and the Knights got to do it all over again. And the play worked, as Jackson Emery hit a 25-foot 3-point 3-point bomb to defeat the Timberwolves 60-57. The win tied Ime Peak (7-1, 20-1) with Mountain View for the Region VII title, while Timpanogos (2-6, 9-12) finished fin-ished in a three-way tie for third with Pleasant Grove and Orem. Mountain View won a coin toss and was awarded the No. 1 seed going into Tuesday's state tournament, while Lone Peak was No. 2. The other three teams began a playoff Thursday, with Timpanogos facing Pleasant Grove at Orem, while the winner win-ner would play Orem at a neutral site Friday. But for Timpanogos to even force the need for the decisive deci-sive shot showed the heart of the T-wolf players. Trailing 44-29 at the start of the fourth quarter, it seemed the game was out of reach. The T-wolves thought differently, though. "I never one time sensed that they let down," said Timpanogos coach Mark Hardman. "Our kids kept battling back and I thought we deserved the credit for that." The road back began with only seven minutes remaining when Matt Lisonbee drilled a 3 from the right corner. Wes Snell followed that up with a hook shot to cut the deficit to 10, but then fouled out with 5:02 remaining. Lone Peak pushed the lead back up to 14 with only three minutes to go, but then the T-wolves started hitting. Mac Nelson drilled a three, and Lisonbee followed that with a three-point play to make it 50-42. With 1:28, it was back to 54-44, but Lisonbee hit a pair of free throws and Ricky Norton hit a three after Lone Peak missed the front end of a 1-and-l to pull withing five at 54-49. The Knights picked up a pair of free throws, but Nelson answered with a three-point play, then made a steal, getting get-ting fouled hard going to the hoop. The T-wolves were awarded the ball and free throws, both of which Nelson made to cut the margin to 56-54 with 33.4 seconds left. Timpanogos was forced to foul, but Brandon Knight hit only 1 of 4 in two possessions, making it 57-54. Then, with under 10 seconds, Shawn Yeats banked in a 3 from the left side to tie the game at 57-57. Unfortunately for the T-wolves, there was enough time left for Lone Peak to call timeout and get in the winning play. Nelson finished with 16 for the Timberwolves, while Yeats had 12 and Lisonbee added 11. "I thought we had a lot of kids contribute tonight." Hardman said. They played with a lot of heart. A little break here or there and we win the game." But' Hardman isn't making excuses, saying the ball bounced the T-wolves' way at times as well, including on Yeats' game-tying 3. turn i I 4 ,- 8 n't ' v r w 3 ''' photo by Landon OhonlTimes Newspaper Timpanogos Matt Lisonbee tries to call timeout after scrambling for a loose ball against Lone Peak. "Did the ball bounce not our way? I don't think you can say that. You've got to take the good and the bad," Hardman said. For the Knights, Ben Wade had 20 points, while Knight finished with 13. Still, there's plenty of disappointment in the loss. With Pleasant Grove losing to Mountain View the same night, a win by the T-wolves would have secured them the third state tournament spot. Now, instead, they're stuck in the playoff But confidence was high before going into Thursday's playoff. The T-wolves finished the region schedule strong, defeating Orem and losing to Mountain View by two and Lone Peak by three, two teams considered near the top in the state. Although, almost winning isn't quite the same as an actual victory to Hardman, especially after the way the T-wolves finished against the Knights. "I don't believe in moral victories. I really don't," Hardman said. "It showed a lot of neat heart. I think our kids found out something about themselves tonight as far as heart goes. But I think they were very, very disappointed disappoint-ed to lose the game." Lone Peak 60, Timpanogos 57 Lone Peak 10 11 21 18 60 Timpanogos 7 9 13 28 57 Lone Peak Ben Wade 20. Brandon Knight 13, Cory Chase 10, Jake Larsen 7, Jackson Emery 5, Russ Jackson 3, Matt Bahr 2. Totals 24 6-12 60. Timpanogos Mac Nelson 16, Shawn Yeats 12, Matt Lisonbee 11, Ricky Norton 6, Chris Burr 5, Wes Snell 3, Kevin Wilkey 2, Ken Donakey 2. Totals 16 16-21 57. 3-point shots Lone Peak 6 (Chase 2, Jackson, Emery, Wade, Larsen); Timpanogos 9 (Lisonbee 2, Nelson 2, Norton 2, Yeats 2, Burr). (ttah Auto Sales We'll Pay $500 Toward Family Your Next Vehicle!!! First 10 N. State St. Lindon 796-7700 Family First Federal Credit Union has teamed up with one of the area's finest automotive specialists, Utah Auto Sales, to offer you a gift (attached), and a fixed rate as low as 3.99 APR - for a limited time only! Our Gift is a $500 check to be used towards the purchase of your next vehicle - if you are to be our customer, we want to be able to say we've made an investment in you. This $500 discount is on top of the already low-stickered prices listed on vehicles at Utah Auto Sales. lit ah Auto Sales is l?K different, and here's why you should buy your next vehicle from them... Most vehicles priced around low book values. - You get a 7-day unconditional money back guarantee on any purchase. 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The ball dropped in and Evans made the free throw for the three-point play. That's about how the entire night went for Pleasant Grove, as Timpanogos could do little to slow down the Vikings and PG stayed alive in the Region VII playoff for a state tournament spot with a 64-51 64-51 victory over the T-wolves on Thursday at Orem. With a three-way tie between Orem, Pleasant Grove and Timpanogos, a playoff was necessary for the final state tournament spot. Orem received' a bye while the other two played for the opportunity to meet the Tigers on Friday. And right from the start, the Vikings were going to make sure they were moving on. They opened the first quarter with a 12-0 run and never looked back, going up 19-5 at the end of the period. "They wanted it more. They deserved the basketball basket-ball game. They have 11 seniors sen-iors who are driven and did not want it to end," said Timpanogos head coach Mark Hardman. After the slow start, the T-wolves T-wolves tried to battle back in the second, but could do no more than just stay with the Vikings. Timpanogos was down 32-13 late in the half before scoring four straight to make it 32-17 at the break. After coming back from 15 down to tie the game two nights earlier against Lone Peak, a comeback was not out of reach, but PG quickly pulled away to open the third. A 13-4 run quickly stretched the lead to 24, and the Vikings were ahead 49-31 49-31 going into the fourth. Led by Mac Nelson, Timpanogos made one last attempt, but just couldn't shut down PG. Nelson had 12 straight points for the Timberwolves, but couldn't get his team any close than 13. He led all scorers with 21, while Chad Evans had 16 for Pleasant Grove. Although not happy with how things finished for his team, Hardman couldn't say enough good about the Vikings. "Pleasant Grove is a class act," he said. "They deserved it. Their fans were awesome all year long. They played with heart, they played with confidence." Timpanogos finished 2-7 against Region VII competition competi-tion and 9-13 overall. Pleasant Grove 64, Timpanogos 51 Timpanogos 5 12 14 20 51 PI. Grove 19 13 17 15 64 Timpanogos Mac Nelson 21, Shawn Yeats 8, Matt Lisonbee 5, Ben Cook 4, Trent Bennion 3, Wes Snell 3, Chris Burr 3, Ken Donakey 2, Ricky Norton 2. Totals 20,6-17 51. PL Grove Chad Evans 16, Jay Helquist 10, Nate Clement 9, Casey Bilbro 7, Landon Hallman 6, Trent Jeppson 5, Cody Bilbro 3, Alex lorg 3, Brady Atkinson 3, Jesse Wilde 2. Totals 22 18-31 64. 3-point shots Timpanogos 5 (Bennion, Yeats, Nelson, Lisonbee, Bun); PI. Grove 2 (Evans, Jeppson). PG 50, Orem 44 After defeating Timpanogos the night before, Pleasant Grove had to turn around and face a well-rested Orem team with the winner advancing to the state tournament. Although Orem was able to keep the pace down, the Vikings built a four-point lead in the first quarter and were able to extend it to six by the fourth. The Tigers finished fin-ished strong, but were matched by PG, and couldn't earn the comeback victory. Craig Cusick and Mike Hales each had 14 points for Orem, while Nate Clement had 17 and Landon Hallman 16 for Pleasant Grove. Orem finishes the season 2- 7 against Region VII teams and 9-13 overall. Pleasant Grove will play Bonneville on Tuesday at the state tournament tour-nament at the E-Center. Orem 9 10 8 17 44 PI. Grove 13 11 9 17-i50 Orem Craig Cusick 14, Mike Hales 14, Alex CaH 10, Bryan Gonzalez 4, Lloyd 2. Totals 16 9-12 44. PL Grove Nate Clement 17, Landon Hallman 16, Chris Hall 8, Chad Evans 7, Trent Jeppson 2. Totals 14 20-26 50. 3- point shots Orem 3 (Cusick 2, Hales); Pleasant Grove 2 (Hal 2). Mtn.View71,PG61 After trailing at the half, the Bruins tied the game after the third and took control con-trol in the fourth for their seventh straight win. PI. Grove Mtn. View 10 25 8 18 61 12 18 13 28 71 PI. Grove Chad Evans 1 5, Nate Clement 13. Landon Hallman 13, Jeppson 6, lorg 5, Casey Bilbro 4, Han 3, Cody Bilbro 2. Totals 21 16-19 61. Mtn. View Danny Johnson 17, Michael Blake.15, Nate AHman 14, Bryan Dickinson 10, Evan Astle 8, A.J. Millet 4, Abe King 3. Totals 25 15-20 71. 3-polnt shots PI. Grove.3 (Hal, lorg, Jeppson); Mtn. View 6 (Blake 3, Dickinson 2, Allman). POOR |