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Show ports A12 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2010 Guardian of Your Community News, KEY VICTORIES Marshall Dunn STAFF WRITER Shane Marshall / The Sentinel LION DOWN: SF big man Max Johnson puts up a shot over a Payson player on the ground. Dons fall to Payson Lions Chad Vest STAFF WRITER £ The Mighty Dons were in the Lions' Den this past Friday night looking for a much-needed win versus their longtime rival. Spanish struggled to get anything going in the first half, but came on strong in the third and fourth, in large part due to the play of Travis Still, who owned the third period. Being down by as many as 12, the junior star athlete went to work. Still had steal after steal, along with a 9-0 run (seven by Still) by the Dons to come within three at 27-24. In the final quarter, SF tied the score on another swipe by Still before taking its first lead of the game (41-39) on a 15-foot jumper by Ren Williamsen. There was a lot of energy in the gym as both teams regained the lead on several occasions. Spanish led 43-41 with just under three minutes to play, but a Lion nailed a big three-pointer to go up 44-43. Following an SF missed opportunity, Payson played keep-away until there was under a minute left to play. From there, the Dons began to foul, but the Lions were nearly flawless and came away with a 54-48 victory. Neither team started out hot to begin the game, but Payson managed to take a 10-4- lead into the second quarter. Back-to-back treys by a Lion guard increased the deficit to 12, but Still answered with one of his own. The Dons struggled to hold onto the ball in the first half as many Lions picked their pockets. Few fouls were called on both ends. The home team simply out-shot the red and gray to take a 25-13 lead at the break. Spanish came alive in the third period as Still began to take over. The junior's hustle play stole back the momentum as he scored seven straight points, a result of excellent team defense. Before the Lions could let out a whimper, SF had gone on an 11-0 run to climb within three at 27-24. On one big play, Still's first charity connected but the second fell short. The Payson players hardly had time to blink when the junior speedster followed his shot and grabbed the rebound. It was like poetry in motion as he landed on one foot before throwing up a hook-shot lay-in for a deuce. However, Payson began to heat up itself, ripping off 11 points before Williamsen nailed a hardcontested jumper to keep it close at 38-32. Spanish went on a 5-0 run to begin the fourth and trailed by only one at 3 8 37, which forced a Lion timeout at the five-minute mark. Still came up big again when he swiped yet another and took it in for a deuce to knot it at 39 all. Moments later, the Dons took their first lead ( 4 3 41) on a 15-foot jumper by Williamsen. But Payson answered with a trey. From there, SF worked hard to keep pace, but the Lions were victorious due to excellent shooting down the stretch from the charity stripe. Payson had four players in double figures while the Dons finished with two. Travis Still (six steals, 7 boards) led all scorers with 21, while Williamsen (7 boards) ended with 11. Max Johnsen was a perfect four-forfour from the line. Friday's 57-54 win over the Springville Red Devils put the Salem Hills mens basketball team back in contention to win the Region 8 championship. "We have a shot at region now, and we have all the momentum going into the playoffs, so that's huge," said team captain Josh Adams. Salem started out right, taking a quick 5-2 lead, but their offense quickly became a non-factor as Springville tightened up its defense. Adams picked up two quick fouls and had to sit out for most of the second half. Springville led 13-11 at the end of the first quarter. Once again, Salem started the quarter out hot, taking a 20-13 lead with 5:48 to play in the second half, causing Springville to take a timeout to regroup. After the timeout, the Red Devils caused all sorts of trouble for the Skyhawks, forcing them to commit costly turnovers. "On the in-bounds we would try to stack it, but they were fronting us and did a really good job at switching and it gave us some trouble," said Adams. Springville was able to take a five-point lead with four seconds left in the half, but a deep three-pointer at the buzzer by Jake Skinner Barry Dalton / Tfie Sentinel See SKYHAWKS • A10 FLYING HIGH: Salem's Jake Skinner beats his man to the basket for two as the Skyhawks] soar over Springville. Jeril B i l l s STAFF W R I T E R The Salem Hills Skyhawks and Maple Mountain Golden Eagles duked it out in boys basketball at the Maple Mountain High School gym on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010. The Skyhawks soundly defeated the Golden Eagles, 62-34, as Maple Mountain, who got within six of the Skyhawks as late as the third quarter, couldn't counter a Salem Hills onslaught in the fourth, in which the Skyhawks outscored the Golden Eagles 2 1 ^ - . Salem Hills' Joseph Mohrman had a monster night, scoring 18 points in the win, the most of any player. Teammates Jake Skinner and London Simonson weren't far behind, with 14 and 12 points, respectively, Duncan Graham led the Golden Eagles with 12. Salem Hills broke out to a big lead early on, beginning the game on a 12-3 run and leading 18-7 at the end of the first quarter. Maple Mountain found their groove offensively in the second quarter, scoring 16 second-quarter points, but the Skyhawks continued to score as well, lighting up the Scoreboard with 15 points of their own. Still, momen- Kay la Neves / T)\e Sentinel DOUBLE TEAM: Salem's Erik Merkley goes to the hoop as Maple Mountain's Colton Starr' and Matt Comer bring pressure. i rum seemed to be slightly in Maple Mountain's favor after KJ Hall nailed a three-point- er on the last play of the first half, narrowing the Skyhawk lead from 13 to 10,33-23. The Golden Eagles cut i See SALEM • A9 ! i. i |
