5A boys high school basketball: Too-tall Lehi clamps down inside to thump Brighton

WEST VALLEY CITY — A lack of height is always the toughest thing to overcome in basketball, while a size advantage is usually a team's best weapon.

The much-taller Lehi Pioneers, with the powerful front line of Will Walker, Jacob Obiama and Josh Scott coming off the bench, pounded the ball inside over and over again in Monday's 5A boys basketball opening round in rolling past the Brighton Bengals 50-33.

"I was really pleased with the way we played inside," Lehi coach Craig Gladwell said.

Eleven was the lucky number for Lehi as the Pioneers used two first-half 11-0 runs to take a 28-14 lead at the break, and then add another 11-0 run to finish the third quarter take a 20-point lead into the final frame.

"We were fortunate on those end-of-the-quarter runs, but I think maybe we wore them down a little bit. We were patient on offense, and they weren't getting much offensively, and I think maybe that frustrated them and they were a little bit worn from it," Gladwell said.

Of those 28 first-half points, 14 came inside the paint and another five from free throws that were generated by getting the ball in deep. Walker, Obiama and Scott combined to score all 19 of those points.

All of Lehi's 16 third-quarter points came in the paint. For the game, the Pioneer frontcourt scored 37 points — with Obiama leading the way with 17, Walker adding 11 and Scott providing six big bench points.

Lehi still got a solid game from its backcourt as well, with guards Zach Stanley and Corey Smith sinking some key free throws in the final quarter. And early on when the Pioneers, who were pressured by the Bengals right at the half-court stripe on every possession, did get an open look from outside they made the most of it. In fact, Lehi's first 11-0 run included a 3-pointer from Mua Faleao, and the second 11-0 run had two 3-pointers from Stanley.

"I thought the two keys going into the game were keeping them off the glass and handling their pressure, and I thought we did a pretty good job of both," Gladwell said.

Initially it didn't look like Brighton being undersized would hurt the Bengals as they used their quickness to run out to an 8-4 lead, scoring on four of their first five possessions. But that's when Lehi's big men took over and rattled off 11 straight before a free throw by Brighton's Neil Richards trimmed the score to 15-9 after one.

The Bengals had a brief 5-0 spurt in the second period on a jumper by Allen Barker and 3-pointer from Will Cannon to cut the lead to 17-14. But two Stanley threes and five points from Walker resulted in Lehi's second 11-0 run.

Brighton's speed and quickness came into play again to open the second half as five quick points by Richards cut Lehi's lead to 28-19. The Pioneers went more than four minutes in the third without scoring until Obiama banked in a runner. The 6-foot-3 senior, who plays about 5 inches taller than his actual height, had two more key baskets in Lehi's 11-0 run to finish the third. His steal and dunk put the Pioneers up 34-21. His old-fashioned 2-and-1 minutes later gave Lehi a 39-21, and the Pioneers coasted home from there.

"(Obiama) just works so hard all the time, mainly on defense. He just plays hard and doesn't really worry about whether he's scoring or not," Gladwell said.

Lehi, the No. 3 seed from Region 4, advances to the quarterfinals on Wednesday to face West Jordan, a Region 3 co-champion.

E-Mail: jimr@desnews.com