Weber no match for big man Matt Van Komen, Pleasant Grove in state quarterfinals

It’s almost not fair for a normal high school team to play Pleasant Grove.

That’s because the Vikings have long-and-lanky 7-footer Matt Van Komen roaming the middle of their zone defense.

He alters shots, grabs rebounds and gets cutbacks, sometimes hardly needing to jump.

All of those abilities were just a bit much for outmatched Weber in Thursday’s Class 6A boys’ basketball state quarterfinals at the Huntsman Center, where Pleasant Grove took a 64-49 victory.

You have to wonder how many times this season the Vikings fans have chanted “You got swatted!” after one of Van Komen’s blocks.

The big junior recorded six of those against Weber to go with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

“It went pretty good, except for the second quarter,” Van Komen said. “I feel like we have a good chance of winning the whole thing. This is just another step on the ladder for us.”

Pleasant Grove coach Randy McAllister said his star junior played well.

“Matt had a really good game,” McAllister said. “He wants to prove he is a legit big man in the state. He is motivated to play well.”

Van Komen got plenty of help, too. Casey Brown, Kael Mikkelsen and sub Tyler Fairbanks all reached double figures.

The Warriors, who finished fourth in Region 1 and upset league champion Kearns earlier in the week, showed they belonged here.

They scrapped and fought but ultimately were no match for the Vikings, who roared out to an 18-9 lead and never were threatened seriously, though Weber kept within striking distance.

It was actually a fairly even game much of the last third quarter, but the Warriors just couldn’t put together a run with Van Komen clogging the middle.

“This time of year, you take what you get, especially if it’s a win,” McAllister said. “I thought the boys competed. We had a couple of lapses. We couldn’t finish the first half well and had a little lull in the third quarter. But for the most part the boys responded.”