ST. GEORGE – The Desert Hills Thunder had to win to wrap up sole possession of the Region 9 championship. Win they did, blowing out the Pine View Panthers 79-48 at Pine View.
The Thunder scored 26 points in the first quarter and never looked back.
The Thunder go into the state playoffs rolling, winning four games in a row and having a very balanced attack.
The Thunder were led by Tyler Ott who scored 18 points, Mike Needham chipped in a career high 16 points and Josh Anderson added 10 points. Guards Brandon Simister and Jaden Beckstrand each scored nine points, while Ty Rutledge chipped in seven points.
The Panthers were led by freshman Kody Wilstead who scored a team high 12 points. Christian Anderson and Jack Bangerter each added nine points for the Panthers.
The story of the night was Skyler Marshall who scored six points for the Panthers. Marshall is a special needs child who loves the game of basketball and got his first career start last night on senior night.
The Panthers end the season 2-10 in region play and 9-12 overall.
The Thunder go into the state playoffs as the number one seed. The Thunder will play host to Juan Diego in the first round of the playoffs at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
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Copyright 2012 St. George News.