5A boys' basketball: Unlikely star leads Lone Peak over Davis (with video)

Ogden • For all the hype surrounding BYU-bound Lone Peak stars Nick Emery, TJ Haws and Eric Mika, another Lone Peak star shined brightest with his high school basketball career dwindling.

He's the guy who loves defense. He's the guy who wants to match up against the opposition's top talent. He's the guy who doesn't like scoring all that much.

He's Talon Shumway, and in Wednesday's 84-50 Class 5A quarterfinal win over Davis, the future BYU football player was, for one night, the best player on the floor on the best team in America.

"Hey, when Talon's playing like that, we're pretty good," said Haws, a junior who finished with 17 points. "Scoring is just one of many things Talon does very well."

Just ask the Darts.

Shumway led the Knights offensively, scoring a game-high 25 points, including going 6 of 8 from 3-point range. With the focus magnified on the trio of Emery, Haws and Mika, the senior stepped up.

"It can be a different guy on a different night," Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewis said.

On Wednesday, it was Shumway, the coy, team-first forward who wowed the crowd with his 3-point shooting and his defensive tenacity. He had a game-high four steals with his 25 points.

Asked if he's ever knocked down six 3s in one game, Shumway joked.

"Maybe in practice," he said. "I shot a little more than usual."

The acclaimed 3-point shooting of the Knights once again was on display. They knocked down 12 of 23 from behind the arc. Coupled with Mika's inside dominance — he scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds — Lone Peak was able to play a prototypical Lone Peak game.

The Knights defended, drained 3s and defended some more.

Lewis said the coaching staff and the players weren't happy with the way the team defended in its opening-round 90-53 victory over West Jordan.

"We didn't have a goal other than to play at a different level of intensity," he said.

Kind of scary.

The Knights (24-1) roll into the Class 5A state semifinals Friday to a familiar face and a familiar team. They'll face Brighton star Brandon Miller and his Bengals, a team they defeated 68-38 in last year's 5A state title game.

"We're going to talk about Brighton," said Lewis studying the stat sheet, "as soon as I walk into the locker room."

ckamrani@sltrib.com

Twitter: @chriskamrani —