LEHI — Park City won just once in 14 region games this season, but after Wednesday’s stunning upset at Lehi it now has as many playoff wins as region wins this year.
No. 26-seed Park City outscored No. 7 seed Lehi by five points in the fourth quarter to rally for the unlikely 48-45 first round victory in the 5A playoffs.
Mark McCurdy scored 19 points to lead the Miners, with Mitch Lind adding 12.
“We have a group of guys who haven’t quit at any point this season. We have asked them to believe and continue to get better everyday, and that if they did that good things would happen,” said Park City coach Thomas Purcell. “Lehi was an excellent opponent and I have all the respect in the world for them and their coaching staff. But I truly believe tonight was about our guys sticking together and improving all year long, great things can be accomplished as a group.”
Next up for Park City is a second round game at No. 10 seed Bountiful on Friday.
Here’s a recap of the other 5A first round games on Wednesday:
Timpview 75, Highland 49
Coleman Ford scored 17 points as Timpview took a close game at halftime and turned it into a big win thanks to a 21-7 third quarter. Jake Whalin and Josh Hansen combined to chip in 27 points for the T-Birds.
East 56, Wasatch 46
East dominated their way to a first round victory by jumping out to a 15-point lead in the first quarter. Andre Mulibea and Anderw Louie combined to score 41 points and knock down five shots from downtown for the Leopards.
Murray 55, Spanish Fork 48
Jake Pollei dominated inside the arc with 19 points while Jaxson Workman was on fire from behind it finishing with 16 points on four 3-pointers as Murray upset Spanish Fork in the 5A first round.
Timpanogos 66, Cottonwood 39
Trey Anderson dropped 22 points and knocked down three triples as Timpanogos defeated the Colts. Jaxon Vanchiere pitched in 11 points and hit a couple from downtown to help the Timberwolves.
Provo 48, Payson 47
Lincoln Pager and Gabe Gutierrez both scored 15 points as Provo escaped with the narrow victory at Payson in the 5A first round.
Alta 68, Hillcrest 55
Jaden Brownell scored 18 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Hawks to a thrilling comeback over the Huskies after trailing 26-21 at the half. Brox Ashby had 24 in the loss for Hillcrest.
Farmington 44, Viewmont 29
After a slow first quarter, Farmington went on a run in the second to break away from rival Viewmont Mason Covington led the way with 15 points. Viewmont was led by Micah Johnson who had 21 points and nine boards.
Mountain View 63, Olympus 58
Ben Mella scored 23 points and knocked down three 3-pointers as Mountain View edged Olympus in a first-round battle of evenly-matched teams. Zach Alder had 26 points and seven 3-pointers in the loss for the Titans.
Bountiful 67, Mountain Ridge 58
The Braves went on an 18-2 run in the third quarter, helping them sneak past Mountain Ridge in the first round of the playoffs. Camron Chism scored 20 points in the win.
Box Elder 61, Salem Hills 55 (OT)
Riley Dahlgren’s 18 points and four triples was enough to lead the Bees to a road playoff win over Salem Hills.
Brighton 47, Bonneville 45
Lander Barton scored on a layup with four seconds remaining as Brighton survived a big scare from Bonneville in the first round of the playoffs. The Bengals led 25-17 at the half, but the Lakers clawed back into the game in the second with a balanced-scoring effort as nobody scored in double figures.
Orem 89, Skyline 54
Orem scored 27 points in each quarter in the second half as it ran away from Skyline for the first round win. Taft Mitchell scored 27 points to pace the Tigers, with Ryan Clayton adding 15.