It's called the charity stripe. It's just 15 feet away from the basket. There's no one in the way, no hands in your face. It's a freebee. It's supposed to be a penalty for the violators when a team commits a foul.
But it was a penalty either way for Provo Tuesday night against Brighton. When the Bulldogs fouled, Brighton usually made Provo pay, and when the Bulldogs stepped to the line, the outcome was always unpredictable.Together the two teams shot 69 free throws, which turned out to be bad news for Provo. The Bulldogs missed the front end of four one-and-ones in the fourth quarter and shot just 52 percent (12 of 23) on the night. Meanwhile, Brighton connected on 35-47 free throws, including nine of its last 10 to hold off Provo 69-60.
Brighton's David Nielsen led the Bengals with 29 points, and 18 of his points came from the free-throw line.
"I thought we played great, but we have to make our free throws," said Provo coach Craig Drury. "Our missed free throws let them get a 10-point lead, and once they had the lead they could dictate the game."
Brighton built a 14-10 lead during the first quarter and stretched its lead to 23-17 at the half, behind the spark of Josh Griffeth and Scott Harrison.
The Bengals began to pull away early in the fourth quarter. A Marshall Tolley free throw gave the Bengals a 50-40 lead with four mintues left in the game. Provo's Kelly Brimhall then tipped in a Bulldog miss, cutting the lead to 50-42. Brighton put the game away with four free throws.
"I was glad to see our kids step it up," said Brighton coach Jim Jimas. "Provo always has a hard-nosed team. If you don't get after them, they'll knock your socks off."
Nielsen's 28 points led all scorers. Griffeth added 19 for Brighton. Provo was led by Brimhall's 13 points.
Elsewhere in the state:
Bountiful 57, Fremont 50
At Bountiful, the second-ranked Braves (7-0) connected on 17 of 21 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter to salvage the win against the Silver Wolves. Ahead by just two points, Bountiful finally pulled away in the last minute of the game.
The Braves' Brett Allen, who had a game-high 16 points, scored on a layup and was intentionally fouled with 50 seconds left. Fremont (1-6) was then called for a technical foul, and the Braves converted all four of the free throws to pull ahead by eight points.
Weber 68, Ogden 59
At Ogden, the Warriors continue to be one of the surprises of the season as they downed the second-ranked Tigers. Weber (5-0) outscored Ogden (6-1) 43-21 in the second half to overcome a 38-25 deficit at halftime. Mitch Montgomery led the Warriors with 19 points, while Shawn Moore and Matt Sparrow added 13 apiece. Ogden's Jermaine Wright had 17 points.
Sky View 58, Roy 47
At Sky View, Eric Winn helped the Bobcats claw past the Royals with 24 points, while teammate Ken Clark scored 17, including three treys.
Cottonwood 53, Kearns 35
At Kearns, the visiting Colts held all Cougar scorers to single digits in a good defensive outing. Don Foutaine was Cottonwood's top scorer with 12 points.
Spanish Fork 79, West 63
At West, Spanish Fork's Kris Jax scorched the nets for 27 points as the Dons breezed by the Panthers.
Union 95, North Summit 60
At Union, the Cougars used a tough, pressure defense and exploded for 36 points in the first quarter to put the Braves away early. Lane Earl led five Cougars in double figures with 26 points. Brian Ross was another force for Union with 14 points and eight assists. Corey Jones led North Summit with 18 points.
Granger 79, Granite 61
At Granite, the visiting Lancers outscored the Farmers 28-18 in the second quarter and 25-14 in the fourth to pull away with the win. Granite's Maurice Hamilton led all scorers with 33 points. The Lancers were led by Tim Erickson's 17-point effort, while Adam Gallagher scored 15 points and Andy Butterfield added 14.
Jordan 67, Lehi 63
At Lehi, the Beetdiggers nailed several key free throws down the stretch to beat the Pioneers. Ryan Stewart chipped in 17 points for Jordan, while Lehi's Curtis Jacobsen led all scorers with 24.
Murray 75, Springville 61
At Murray, a huge performance by Jeff Johnsen vaulted the Spartans (4-2) past the Red Devils (4-3). Johnsen netted 33 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Tooele 57, Grantsville 49
At Tooele, Richard Tanner and Graig Warner combined for 28 points, and Scott Pratt and Straton Christensen added 10 apiece as the Buffaloes downed their cross-valley rivals.
Dugway 84, East Carbon 49
At East Carbon, the third-ranked Mustangs (8-0) remain among the ranks of the undefeated with this blowout victory. Jed Kelly led the way with 20 points.
Pine View 66, Dana Hills (Calif.) 58
At the Bullhead City tournament, the Panthers recovered from an earlier 46-45 overtime loss to Brophy Prep of Phoenix, Ariz.
Region 12
Manti 51, Millard 44
At Manti, the Templars' Allen Cox had a big night with 21 points to help raise Manti's Region 12 record to 2-0 (7-2 overall). Jason Borup added 21 in the losing cause for Millard (4-4, 0-1).
Region 14
I.C.S. 66, S.L. Christian 33
At Intermountain Christian, the Lions (4-3, 3-0) easily defeated the Lynx (4-3, 2-1) in this Region 14 matchup as Michael Russell hit five three-pointers for a game-high 15 points.
18th Reebok Holiday Prep Classic
At Las Vegas, the second day of this prestigious prep tournament turned out to be much kinder to the Utah participants. Each of the four Utah teams came out victorious, unlike Monday where each team lost at least one game.
Mountain Crest 73, Sparks (Nev.) 51
At Las Vegas, Nate Wilcox led four Mountain Crest players in double figures with 19 points. J.J. Nielsen, Dan Conger and Eric Baugh had 17, 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Cedar City 56, Palm Desert (Calif.) 47
At Las Vegas, 3A's top-ranked Redmen improved to 7-1 thanks to an 18-point outburst by Karl Bohman.
Payson 75, Cimmaron Memorial 62
At Las Vegas, Lincoln Taylor ripped out 26 points as the fourth-ranked Lions walloped Cimmaron Memorial, Nev. Joel Ockey had 20 points, including two three-pointers for Payson (6-2).
Mountain View 66, Steveston, B.C. 43
At Las Vegas, the fourth-ranked Bruins outscored Steveston 33-14 in the second half to improve to 5-2 on the season. Brent Ramey nailed four treys en route to a 17-point performance.