by Beky Beaton/Daily Hearald

Friday night saw yet another Pleasant Grove vs. Lone Peak boys basketball classic, the latest in the series of sensational games that have marked the CJ Wilcox-Tyler Haws eras at their respective schools.

This round went to the Knights 64-57, but don’t let the final score fool you into thinking this was a comfortable victory. It was anything but.

“In some ways, this was a sloppy game,” said Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewis. “Both teams were probably a little too juiced up, but I thought our guys kept their cool and they were able to execute down the stretch.”

Played in Highland, before a standing-room-only crowd that was rocking even before the opening whistle, there was just a two-point difference in the score with 41 seconds left on the clock.

Then, as he has throughout his career, Haws came up absolutely clutch with two plays that secured the day for the Knights.

After a teammate missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Haws wrestled the ball away from three Vikings for an offensive rebound and was fouled.

He then swished two charity tosses to make it 60-56. He didn’t know it at the time, but the second of those shots broke a school scoring record that has stood for nearly nine years.

“I try to go after the ball every time,” Haws said after the game. “Sometimes it bounces my way. It was an important play and I’m glad I was able to make it.”

Down at the other end, LeSean Wilcox hit the second of two free throws to narrow the gap to three with 23 seconds left, but Haws was sent to the line once again and cashed in to improve the margin to five.

He finished with 38 points, including 10-of-10 at the line, and also had 10 rebounds.

“For me, it’s just about playing hard,” Haws said. “If I score that many, then I do. If I score 10 and we win, I’m just as happy.”

Brandon Reeves, who also had a terrific outing on both ends of the floor, then iced the contest by canning two more foul shots to provide the final tally.

“As good as Tyler was, Brandon ended up with 14 points despite having the challenge of guarding CJ Wilcox all night,” Lewis said.

“I knew that would be a tough job, but I just told myself to come out and play my best,” Reeves said. “Pleasant Grove is a great team and we knew they would make their runs.”

There was plenty of drama before it got down to the final minute as well.

Pleasant Grove scored the first six points of the contest, but the Knights answered by finishing the quarter on a 14-4 run to enter the second with a four-point advantage.

Then it was the Vikings’ turn, as they outscored the hosts 20-12 to go into the locker room with a 30-26 lead.

Lone Peak came out of the break smoking. The Knights caught up to and then passed Pleasant Grove, building a 47-39 cushion by the end of the third quarter.

That’s not enough against a talented team like the Vikings, however. CJ Wilcox hit a quick jumper to open the final stanza, later following up with a huge trey to cut Lone Peak’s lead to just two.

He eventually tied the game at 51 with a pair of free throws to a big roar from Pleasant Grove’s fans.

Then it was Dillon Smith’s turn to make something happen. Quiet offensively all night to that point, he hit a long bomb off a feed from Nate Austin, which was immediately matched by Sefa Tanoai on the other end.

The next trip up the floor, Smith curled in for a tough jumper to give his team the lead again, but that effort was also wiped out when Bryan Sampson made an inside score with contact.

He missed the free throw and Haws went to the floor for the rebound, alertly calling time out to retain possession once he had the ball in his hands.

The first try after the pause missed, but Reeves got the rebound and eventually found Smith, who passed it on to Haws on the left baseline.

He drove in and scored from a difficult angle, then got the defensive board on the next Viking possession to set up the final tense sequence.

“We had a bunch of guys step up tonight,” Haws said. “It was a great win for our team.”

CJ Wilcox led the Viking effort with 24 points, including 9-of-9 from the line. Tanoai added 12, including a pair of treys.

“I was very proud of the way my kids came out and executed our game plan,” said Pleasant Grove coach Randy McAllister. “They’ve come along way in a short time and hit some big shots at important moments.

“We made a couple of mistakes there at the end that cost us, but I was very pleased with how we responded all game long.”