PROVO — With Mountain View easily defeating Tooele on Wednesday night, the Payson Lions needed a victory at Timpview to keep their state playoff hopes alive.
But the Thunderbirds didn't allow the Lions much of a chance though.
Brandon Kaufusi erupted for 12 of Timpview's 15 first-quarter points as the Thunderbirds (14-7 overall, 8-4 Region 7) demoralized the Lions (7-14, 5-7) 66-45.
"We came out and played with intensity," said Thunderbirds head coach Perry Wildeboer. "We made it tough for them to score."
The Lions jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and actually held the Thunderbirds to without a field goal for the first three minutes of the game. But the Thunderbirds quickly adapted to the Lions' defensive schemes and scored the next 15 points.
Payson's Chad Marvin hit a buzzer-beater to conclude the first quarter. But in the second quarter, the Thunderbirds ran away, putting together a 15-2 run to take a commanding 32-8 lead. The Thunderbirds led 39-14 at halftime.
Payson shot much better in the second half, outscoring the Thunderbirds 31-27. But it wasn't even close to enough.
Seth Lovell, the Lions leading scorer on the season, was held in check most of the game, finishing with just 10 points.
Wildeboer said taking Lovell out of the game was critical to his team's success.
"We wanted to limit his touches," he said.
Lovell shot just 4-of-11 from the field and connected on just 2-of-8 from the line.
Heading into the contest, Payson was fighting with Mountain View for the fourth and final playoff spot. The Lions' players were fighting back tears as they exited the locker room.
Even though the Thunderbirds had already clinched their playoff spot, Kaufusi said it was important to come out and play hard.
"We wanted to come out and get in their heads," he said. "We don't want to let up on anyone."
Wildeboer added that momentum heading into the playoffs is huge and that a win Wednesday night does a good job of providing that.
Tanner Brockbank added 11 points and Marcus Hunt added 10 for the Thunderbirds while Lovell and Marvin led the Lions with 10.