High school basketball: Lone Peak advances despite rough first half

"I just tried to keep him out of the paint the best I could — not just me, we had a lot of guys rotating on him," said Hansen after finishing with seven points and 11 boards with seven coming off the offensive glass. "We knew what type of threat he was and we had a good game plan."

"The kid's a warrior," Lewis added of Hansen.

The Knights from the south came out on a tangent, nose to the grindstone, determined to get to the cup in the second half. The mentality made all the difference.

Talon Shumway reached the free-throw line with 5:50 remaining in the third quarter. It was the first drawn shooting foul of the game. Lone Peak finished 7-for-7 from the charity stripe in the second half.

Behind Haws and Emery, the Knights extended the lead to double digits, 38-27, after three quarters.

With the game threatening to get out of hand after Shumway finished on another fast-break layup, Hansen, not known for his offensive ability, closed the book on Northridge.

Lone Peak's Brody Berry crossed his defender at the top of the key but quickly found his path trapped, as a result he yo-yo'd across the baseline and skipped a one-bounce pass to Hansen — whom was all alone, nesting at the wing.

Hansen calmly twined the 3-pointer to give the Knights the 43-27 lead with 5:21 remaining in regulation.

"It was awesome — it doesn't happen often," Hansen said. "When I (have) an open shot Coach (Lewis) tells me not to hesitate. Luckily, it fell and I was glad I could give our team a boost."

Email: tphibbs@desnews.com