Lone Peak overcomes Brighton's stall to advance to the 5A championship

Realizing the game was on the brink of collapse, Gardner motioned for Bryce Callahan to stand at half-court, tuck the ball under his wing, and wait.

But with the seven-point lead — the Knights were content.

“We’re up seven. We’ll do that,” Lewis said. “The goal of the game is to win.”

“We were up 14-7, so coach just told us to back off,” Lone Peak’s Eric Mika added. “We’re not going out to chase them.”

Gardner thought the Knights would eventually budge.

“I didn’t think (Lewis) would let us hold it, but you know what? He’s a lot better coach than I am,” Gardner said. “He made that decision, and it was it is.”

In the third quarter, the Bengals pulled within five, 21-16. Unhindered, completely in rhythm, the Knights patiently waited the ensuing possession and eventually found Emery. In one full swoop, he tied the state record for most career 3-pointers and sparked a 12-0 run that crushed any lingering hope.

“We were up seven. We didn’t want to push the panic button like Brighton did — I feel like,” Emery said. “I was actually really surprised, I thought that they were going to stall it again. We started playing our game and really pushed it to them.”

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