Wilstead owns paint as Panthers tame Tigers; Video postgame

Pine View at Hurricane, Hurricane, Utah, Jan. 24, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News.

HURRICANE — Hey, aren’t quarterbacks supposed to be soft? Pine View’s Kody Wilstead, more well-known for his record-setting prowess as the Panthers’ quarterback in the fall, is anything but soft on the basketball court. In fact, he’s a beast.

Pine-view-smhurricane-smWilstead blocked six Hurricane shots, grabbed 14 rebounds and scored 15 points to lead Pine View to a 69-48 road victory over the Tigers Friday night at the Tigers Den.

“He’s such a phenomenal athlete,” Pine View coach Darrell Larsen said. “Everyone knows what an incredible quarterback he is. I think he could be just about anything he wanted to be. He just took over that basketball game for awhile at both ends of the court.”

That amazing stretch came in the second quarter, when the upset-minded Tigers were still in the game. With PV ahead 10-8, the 6-foot-6 junior grabbed a lob pass inside, absorbed a hard foul and banked in a shot. The three-point play made it 13-8 with 7:37 to go in the second quarter. Just a few seconds later, Wilstead blocked a Hurricane shot attempt, starting a fast break that he finished by drawing a shooting foul. Moments later he blocked another Hurricane shot attempt, cagily patrolling the lane like an angry lion.

Jordan Ence (45) shoots while Kody Wilstead (2) and Jed Newby (24)  defend, Pine View at Hurricane, Hurricane, Utah, Jan. 24, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News.
Jordan Ence (45) shoots while Kody Wilstead (2) and Jed Newby (24) defend, Pine View at Hurricane, Hurricane, Utah, Jan. 24, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News.

Jed Newby tipped a shot in and Chaz Peterson followed with a 3-pointer to cap an 11-0 Pine View run to make it 19-8 with 6:06 left in the first half. Austen Beatty stopped the Panthers run with a jumper, but Wilstead fired up the Pine View student section by blocking two Hurricane shot attempts the next time up the floor. He also hit three more free throws to help the Panthers to a 30-16 halftime lead.

“It’s so nice having him in there because he covers up a lot of mistakes,” Larsen said. “A lot of what he does you don’t even necessarily notice, like deflect passes and change shots.”

The Panthers came out in the second half and scored seven quick points to put the game on ice early. Jack Bangerter, in his first game back since suffering a concussion Jan. 10, scored five of the seven points on a 3-pointer and a fast break layup.

“It’s so great to have a Jack back out there,” Larsen said. “We’re a whole team again now. It really makes a difference having him in the line-up.”

Bangerter, whose brother Wil returned from his LDS mission to Brazil earlier Friday evening, scored 11 points in his comeback game.

“I think their mom was saying it was the first time since Pee Wee League or something that all six of the brothers have been together in the same gym,” Larsen said. “That’s pretty cool. Even the littlest Bangerter got in the game late and made three free throws.”

Sophomore Steve Bangerter was fouled on a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left and made all three charity shots.

Down 39-19, Hurricane did make a run and pulled to within 39-28 midway through the third quarter with Kaden Langston and Jordan Ence leading the charge. But Pine View pushed the lead all the way out to 24 (at 54-30) by the end of the quarter behind 3-pointers from Peterson, Jack Bangerter and Ryan Koller.

Jack Bangerter had a nice line, with 11 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 treys. Peterson finished with 13 points and 4 assists and Collin Dowdell had 10 points.

The Panthers, now 14-2 overall and 6-1 in region play, have a seven-game winning streak as they prepare for Wednesday night’s home game vs. Snow Canyon, the only region team to beat them. SC defeated Pine View 72-66 back on Dec. 18 in a game the Warriors led by 17 at the half, but the Panthers pulled to within three in the fourth quarter.

Hurricane, 5-12 and 1-6, has lost six straight. The Tigers, who got 11 from Erik Mitchell and 8 from Kaden Langston, play at Dixie Wednesday night. Hurricane beat Dixie earlier this season for the Tigers’ only region win.

Stats: PVHS 69, HHS 48

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Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.

Pine View at Hurricane, Hurricane, Utah, Jan. 24, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News.
Pine View at Hurricane, Hurricane, Utah, Jan. 24, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News.

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