High school boys basketball: Provo earns dominant win over Hurricane, wins first state title in 18 years

If Saturday’s 4A state championship between Provo and Hurricane proved anything, it’s that the Bulldogs have a plethora of weapons to go to in big games.

Of course, Provo has stars in Makai Allen and Callen Tollestrup, but it had four players finish with double figures to lead it to a dominant 62-42 championship win over the Tigers.

“When teams have to key on Makai, you’re going to get back cuts,” said Provo head coach Chris Collinsworth. “You’re going to get certain actions that just become available. When guys have to key on Callen, it’s the same thing.

“We worked really hard to help our guys understand where they can succeed alongside those two.”

One of the guys who stepped up big for Provo early Saturday was Lucas Castagnetto. He took advantage of playmaking and hit his open shots, finishing with 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting from deep.

“I just came in super confident,” Castagnetto said. “Coaches told me let it rip because I’ve been shooting pretty good recently. I feel like everything was going in, so I just kept letting it fly.”

The offense flowed for Provo for all 32 minutes. The Bulldogs rarely settled for mid-range shots and adopted an NBA-esque shot selection, with an emphasis on shots around the rim and behind the 3-point line.

The Bulldogs ended the championship game shooting 50% from deep and accumulated 20 assists.

Provo beat Hurricane in nearly every important stat. It outrebounded the Tigers, forced more turnovers, shot more efficiently and moved the ball better.

Allen, in particular, led both the playmaking and scoring efforts. He finished with 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Allen had a celebration dunk in the fourth quarter to put the Bulldogs up 20.

“It felt great,” Allen said. “Coach told us, ‘Take as much time as we can, 35 seconds.’ I had the lane, and he said, ‘Get a layup,’ so I saw, I took it.”

Tollestrup didn’t score much in the first half, but Provo got him going in the second half. He finished with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.

Griffin DeMartini also had 11 points.

The biggest challenge Provo had against Hurricane was Brigham Kemp, who had been one of the best scorers in the state tournament, but Collinsworth knew exactly how to handle him.

If the Bulldogs could contain the other Tigers, then Provo had a good shot of winning.

That plan worked out swimmingly for Provo, as no other Hurricane player finished with more than eight points. The Tigers were held to just 33% shooting and 13% from distance.

“They executed really well,” Collinsworth said. “The goal with Brigham is to contain him. You’re not gonna stop him. They’re a good shooting team and we held them to 13% from 3 tonight.

“Force them into tough shots, make everything contested and (legendary Provo) coach Craig Drury used to always tell me, oftentimes letting their best players score 40 is how you win the game.

“Just don’t let the other four guys score 20 and you’ll be fine, and that’s essentially what we did tonight.”

Saturday’s state championship is Provo’s 18th, the most in the state. Despite the winning history, it was the Bulldogs’ first state championship since 2008.

It was also the first time Provo qualified for a championship game since BYU alums Kyle Collinsworth and Brandon Davies were on the roster.

“(It means) everything. That’s what I keep telling everyone,” Chris Collinsworth said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys that bought in and believed in me, my staff, in Provo High.

“For us to actually come through on that for these guys and with these guys means everything.”

4A All-Tournament Team

MVP — Callen Tollestrup, Provo

Makai Allen, Provo

Lucas Castegnetto, Provo

Griffin DeMartini, Provo

Brigham Kemp, Hurricane

Jaxen McCuistion, Timpanogos