ST. GEORGE – Mountain View once again used a late game surge to defeat its opponent at the Red Rock Rumble. After a 14-0 surge helped the Bruins defeat Pine View Friday night, Mt. View outscored the Snow Canyon Warriors 17-8 in the fourth quarter to steal the victory, 55-50 at Dixie State’s Burns Arena.
The Bruins jumped out early to an 8-2 lead in the first quarter behind two buckets by forward Manuel Ortiz. The Warriors clawed back, scoring 10 points in the last two minutes of the quarter to lead 12-10.
The Warriors continued the momentum in the second quarter, outscoring the Bruins 17-11. The Warriors had four consecutive 3-pointers from four different players and led at halftime 29-21.
In the first half, the Bruins pulled a backcourt defender into the paint to prevent post-pass entry. The strategy kept Warrior front court bigs Nate Gottfredson and Hayden Anderson to a single basket in the first half.
“Our guards know they have the green light to pull the trigger when they are open,” said Warrior head coach James Brown. “I think that the intense play over the last few days took out the lift in their legs today and they were not as confident taking that open shot.”
The teams played evenly in the third quarter. Gottfredson and Anderson got on track, combining to score eight points, while Warner Rigby provided some outside scoring with five points. The Bruins countered with Ortiz and Spencer Conrad combining for 10 points. After three, the lead was still 42-35 for Snow Canyon.
It did not take Mountain View long to erase the Warrior lead. The Bruins went on an 11-2 run over the first four minutes to take their first lead since early in the first quarter, 46-44. Four free throws from the Warriors gave them the lead at 48-46 with 3:09 to play. On the Bruins’ next possession, Conrad hit a three-pointer at the 2:10 mark for the lead, 49-48. After an empty possession by the Warriors, Mountain View pulled the ball out to stall, forcing Snow Canyon to foul. The Bruins hit 3 out of 4 to take a 52-48 lead with 17 seconds left.
After a Warrior timeout, Gottfredson scored quickly to cut the lead to two, 52-50 with nine seconds on the clock. They quickly fouled Ortiz, who hit one of two for a three-point lead, 53-50. The Warriors got the ball to Tanner Sampson in the corner for the tie, but the shot went long. Conrad secured the ball for Bruins. He was fouled with 0.7 to play and hit both free throws for the final score.
“Tanner hit that same shot last night for the win,” said Brown. “Even though it was contested, he got the shot off clean. Just did not fall.”
Spencer Conrad led all scorers with 14 points. Ryan Warner chipped in 11 for the Bruins. For the Warriors, Gottfredson and Rigby scored 11 and 10, respectively.
The loss drops Snow Canyon to 6-4. The Warriors will get the next couple of weeks off before they travel to Canyon View for Region 9 action on Jan. 8. Mountain View improves to 6-1 and will travel to Gillette, Wyo., Jan. 2 to play in the Energy Classic.
Stats: MVHS 55, SCHS 50
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