Lehi cruises after a blazing start

TOOELE — Thanks to brutal driving conditions in Tooele County, very few spectators were in the bleachers for the tip-off of Tooele's game with Lehi Saturday night.

Eventually fans began trickling in, but when they finally arrived, they probably wished they had stayed in the cozy confines of home.

Lehi cruised to the 64-47 victory over Tooele thanks to a nearly flawless first quarter in which the Pioneers outscored the Buffaloes 25-2.

"To be honest, I was a little worried about a slow start," said Lehi coach Craig Gladwell. "But then we came out and jumped on them quickly."

Lehi put on a clinic in the first quarter, showing no lingering effects from their two-hour bus ride to Sky View on Friday night.

Drew Robinson and Trevor Nerdin scored five points each in the first three minutes as Lehi raced to the 10-0 lead. After Jesse Mangelson scored Tooele's first basket midway through the first quarter, the Pioneers merely reeled off 15 straight points to close out the quarter.

"I don't ever remember a team getting up that much that early," said Gladwell.

During that first quarter spurt, the Pioneers made 10-of-13 field goals including four 3-pointers. On two of their three misses, they grabbed the offensive rebound and buried their next shot.

Tooele, meanwhile, couldn't get anything to drop as it went 1 for 10 from the field in the first quarter.

Lehi didn't let up in the second quarter either as it took a 38-18 halftime lead.

"Whenever you get a great start like that, you worry about a letdown," said Gladwell.

To ensure his squad avoided complacency, Gladwell reminded his players of the Morgan game before the Christmas break. The Pioneers took a 23-point lead into halftime, only to watch the Trojans whittle it down to seven by the end of the third quarter.

Lehi picked up where it left off in extending its lead to 56-30 by the end of the third quarter.

"If we continue to do well offensively, we'll be one of the teams to be reckoned with at state," said Gladwell, whose team has now won six straight games.

Nerdin led Lehi with 17 points, while Robinson, Alex Allred and Ben Walker each chipped in 10.

In other games Saturday:

BOYS' GAMES

REGION 12