High school basketball: Provo rallies for win on unexpected fade shot

LEHI — With Friday night's Region 7 game tied and the final seconds ticking off the clock, Provo senior forward Kyle Collinsworth drove into the lane looking to make a play.

What he found was an unexpected obstacle.

"I actually stepped on somebody's foot," he explained. "That forced me to kind of fade back when I took the shot."

Even though the final jumper wasn't exactly what Collinsworth had planned, the result couldn't have been better. Even though he was fouled, the Provo senior banked the shot home to put his team in front and eventually give the Bulldogs the 48-46 win over the Pioneers.

"I'm lucky to have a winner, a kid who has played in a lot of games," said Provo head coach Craig Drury. "When we put the ball in his hands, I know good things are going to happen."

Collinsworth's clutch basket made it a two-point contest, but a miss at the foul line gave Lehi one last desperate hope. The final deep 3-pointer came up short, however, and the Bulldogs had the victory.

Throughout the first half, the Provo faithful must've believed that result was inevitable. Five first-quarter treys — three by Bulldog senior Ryan Durrant — and some solid second quarter defense gave the visitors a 36-25 halftime lead.

"We struggled defensively in the first half," said Pioneer head coach Craig Gladwell. "We had a lot of breakdowns. We had a guy playing centerfield in the middle to limit their penetration, but they kicked it out and knocked down the shots early."

Some adjustments at the break, however, allowed the home team to swing the momentum in their favor. Lehi played better defense and used the high-low combo of senior centers William Walker and Josh Scott to get to the rim.

"We won the first half handily, but we've got to work on our conditioning," Drury said. "They won the second half, but fortunately not by enough."

The Pioneers rallied to take a 43-42 lead midway through the fourth quarter on a layup by Walker, who led all scorers with 23 points.

A beautiful out-of-bounds play set up Collinsworth for a layup to put Provo back in front, followed by a pair of free throws by junior guard Andrew Finch.

But Walker made another strong move to the basket, made the layup, was fouled and knocked down the free throw to tie the score with under a minute and set the stage for another exciting finish.

"We had our chances," Gladwell said. "Missed foul shots and easy shots right at the basket could've made this a different game."

Senior guard Keith Moore scored 12 points for the Bulldogs and Durrant added 11, while Scott had 10 points and 14 rebounds for Lehi.

The victory gives Provo (7-2, 1-0) an early edge in league play, particularly because they were able to get the win on the road.