Cavemen, Brown bag Payson in 2OT

AMERICAN FORK — After battling Payson's big men for four quarters and two overtimes, American Fork's Taylor Brown was thankful he wasn't running on empty at the end.

The 6-foot-8 forward hit four straight free throws in the decisive second overtime and 11 of 13 for the game in leading the Cavemen to a thrilling 56-54 Region 6 win Wednesday.

"I'm just glad I still had my legs under me," Brown said after scoring four of the Cavemen's final seven points.

But even though Brown led American Fork (3-3) with 16 points, he and coach Doug Meacham credit the Cavemen's guards for the chance to win. Zach Adamson and Rich Shoff both hit key fourth-quarter 3-pointers, and Brenan Davis tossed in one in the first overtime to offset a strong game from the Lions' Walynn Burgess. Adamson also made two overtime free throws and had a key steal to keep Payson from getting a final game-tying shot.

"Our guards finally hit some shots," Meacham said.

American Fork's coach also praised his guards for shutting down the Lions' offense in the two overtime periods.

"It's fun to win a game on the defensive end," Meacham said.

Burgess dominated the game early, and when he hit a buzzer-beating trey just past the half-court line the Lions led 15-7 after one quarter - with Burgess scoring 11 of his game-high 24 in the period. But Payson (2-4) lost the momentum early in the second period when sophomore Tyler Newbold missed a driving dunk and was called for a technical for hanging on the rim. Instead of the Lions leading 19-9, the score was 17-11 after Stefan Zimmerman sank both penalty shots. American Fork then closed the half on a 10-0 run to lead 25-20 after two quarters.

Both teams played a bit sloppy in the third quarter, but a late hoop by the Lions took them into the fourth quarter with a 33-32 lead. Late in the fourth quarter, following 3-pointers by Adamson and Shoff, Newbold sank a quick trey for Payson to tie the game at 42. With the game tied at 44, Meacham decided to run the clock down for a final shot. However, Shoff's last-second shot from the corner bounced away.