The mother of all rematches.
Lone Peak beat American Fork the first time the two teams met in January, which prompted a new slogan at Lone Peak. "Beating American Fork, so easy even a Caveman could do it."
No one is laughing at American Fork.
The Cavemen are ticked.
Like all big events, the mayors of each city usually offer up a friendly wager, but since they were unavailble, I have come up with a better idea just to add a little something to the game.
If Lone Peak wins, Bob Eckles must sing the Lone Peak fight song and Aces Anderson must skip the hospitality room at next year's Great Zuke Challenge. If American Fork wins, Quincy Lewis must officially change his son Kodiak's middle name from 'Win' to 'Caveman' Lewis.
Lone Peak at American Fork
I realize that I'm about to violate my own rule here, but I can't help it. I figured out a long time ago that it's always a bad idea to play the "Due" theory.
Never go with a team because they are due to win. If one team is on a winning streak, you saddle up and ride that team as long as you can. In Lone Peak's case, you are in for a long (12-game) ride. But I have never been one to go with the popular pick.
I'm not afraid to play a hunch and I have a feeling that the Cavemen are going to shock the basketball world with an upset of Lone Peak.
I might be the only outside of the coaching staff that believes it can be done, but I heard that American Fork is reserving one of those chair seats for me for life if the Cavemen win.
And who said I can't be bribed?
American Fork 53, Lone Peak 51
American Fork fans, please take the court at your own risk.
It was a celebration that was one part New Year's Eve in Time Square, one part Mardi Gras and one part Running of the Bulls.
What was the cause of such pandemonium?
It's not every year that American Fork beats Lone Peak.
American Fork used a monster game from Zac Hunter, who scored 19 points, and the Cavemen got 11 points each from Austin Waddoups and Quincy Bair to beat Lone Peak 58-50 on Friday night, a win that ended a 12-game losing streak to the Knights.
"That was fun. That's why you go through all the summer stuff is just to have the chance to win games like that," said American Fork coach Doug Meacham. "I think the difference this time around was we learned from our mistakes. We got on them and kept putting on the throttle and that's what you have to do. I think we broke their spirit a little bit, enough to hang on towards the end and that's all you can do against a good team like that."
The win was not only intensely satisfying for American Fork, but it helped the Cavemen keep their Region 4 title hopes alive. With two region games left to play, both Lone Peak and American Fork have just one region loss.
"It was awesome. We all did it as a team, everyone, even the bench players helped us. It just felt good to get a win," Hunter said. "It's about time we pulled it out. This will just give us momentum heading into the tournament."
The key for American Fork was a pivotal third quarter where nationally ranked Lone Peak proved to be human.
Hunter started off the quarter by throwing down a thundering two-hand dunk when he got free inside the paint.
Danny Beddes then scored four straight points for American Fork to give the Cavemen a 37-27 lead. Lone Peak's Brody Berry kept the Knights close. He answered for Lone Peak and after a Hunter layup, Berry went coast-to-coast and cashed in a 3-point play.
Hunter scored again for American Fork and Berry took the ball inside and scored, but in the process came down wrong on his already tender ankle and had to leave the game.
It was the beginning of the end for Lone Peak. The Knights then turned the ball over trying to inbounds the ball and on another possession, threw the ball in the stands.
But that was nothing compared to what happened in the closing seconds of the quarter. Waddoups had the ball near the top of the key and got past Nick Emery. Emery grabbed Waddoups from behind by his neck, a play that drew both a foul and a technical foul on Emery.
The killer for Lone Peak was the two fouls just happened to be Emery's fourth and fifth fouls of the game. The Knights had to play the remainder of the game without their leading scorer.
"That was something that had been boiling the whole game and finally it boiled over. He (Emery) can't react that way when things like that happen. The correct call was made, it was going on the whole game, he's just got to be smarter," said Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewis. "That's a really good team we lost to. Congratulations to them. They got it done and they did what they needed to do."
Despite playing without Emery and Berry in the fourth quarter, Lone Peak rallied. T.J. Haws scored seven points in the quarter and after he sank a 3-pointer with 1:50 left to play, Lone Peak trailed just 49-48. But Hunter set the tone for the rest of the game when he made a pair of free throws. American Fork knocked down 11-of-15 free throws in the quarter to put the game away.
Talon Shumway led Lone Peak with 14 points and Haws had 13. Emery, who scored eight points in the first quarter, finished with 10.
"I was proud of the team I had on the floor at the end. We had a chance to take the lead with a minute left in the game without Berry and Emery," Lewis said. "I don't like any losses obviously, but we'll learn a lot from this."
Both teams will now have a week off before they resume region play and try to hold onto a share of the region title.
BEATON: Caveman boys hoops upend No. 1 Lone Peak in lively gym; rematch, anyone?
The American Fork boys basketball team found the 13th time to finally be the charm.
In an atmosphere worthy of a contest between two of the best teams in the state, the Knights and the Cavemen battled back and forth in front of a frenzied crowd.
With Lone Peak tickets limited to 500 in a facility that holds more than three times that number, the home team fed off the energy of their fans to great effect, and no one more so than American Fork forward Zac Hunter.
He's not one of the marquee names on his team, but perhaps he should be. He not only scored his game-high 19 points in a variety of ways, but he was also a monster on the boards and a defensive force in the paint.
He ended up with eight official rebounds, but his inside presence was worth much more than that. He also had a couple of nice assists and was 3-of-4 at the free throw line with the pressure on.
The college-bound stars as well as their teammates from both sides provided an abundance of highlight-reel moves, which made the event a fantastic one for fans to watch.
However, a definite factor in the outcome was too much watching by the Knight starters - from the bench, where Nick Emery sat the entire fourth quarter and Chase Hansen ended the game, both after fouling out.
In addition, point guard Brody Berry went down with an ankle injury with 1:55 left in the third period. He gamely returned briefly but was clearly hobbled and soon came out of the game for good.
The Cavemen also took great advantage of the foul differential, making 17 of the 25 shots they were awarded, including 11-of-14 in the final three minutes to cement the win. The visitors took just six charity tosses and made only three.
Despite all that, this was no gimme. American Fork saw a double-digit lead whittled down to a single point with 1:53 remaining, after TJ Haws converted on a steal by Conner Toolson.
The Cavemen were able to hold it together down the stretch though, thus earning the program's most significant victory in years.
With only two games remaining in league play and no one else even close, Lone Peak (16-3, 7-1) and American Fork (16-2, 7-1) will likely share the Region 4 title, assuming they both win out, with seeding to the tournament to be determined.
Whichever way the playoff spots are settled, don't be too surprised to see a rubber match between these two squads to determine the 5A state title a few weeks from now.
And that one, if it happens, will surely be another dandy too.
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