In a week, Region 9 play resumes and every game will go for or against local teams’ records in attempting to chase a state championship. But even though this week’s games have no bearing on who will eventually win the 4A title, coaches and players went all out to try and capture big wins as the preseason winds down.
Brantzen Blackner had a huge second half in Canyon View’s win, while Jackson Last had an epic duel with the best Nevada has to offer, plus Desert Hills rebounded from an off night to get two wins. Cedar also got a big win, while Dixie fell short in its tourney semifinal. Here’s a recap:
Steve Hodson Cancer Classic (at Canyon View)
Canyon View 67, Spanish Fork 58
A word to the wise for future Canyon View opponents: Don’t make Brantzen Blackner mad.
The senior guard scored 22 of his 28 points in the second half as the Falcons held off the Dons for their fourth win. It may not have happened if a Spanish Fork fan hadn’t mocked Blackner as he left the court for halftime.
“We shared the ball and played great team defense and then Brantzen, well, he had a big second half,” Canyon View coach Rob Potter said. “Somebody from Spanish Fork said something to him while he was walking to the locker room. Brantzen decided he wanted to show what kind of player he was. I’m thankful for that.”
Blackner made six 3-pointers in the game and also ripped down nine rebounds and dished out five assists.
It looked like it wouldn’t be much of a game as the Falcons led by 13 at the end of the first quarter and by 15 early in the second. But Spanish Fork rallied to make it a 34-29 game at the half.
Even with Blackner hitting from all over, the Dons stayed in the game and actually closed to within 60-58 with under a minute to go. But the Falcons closed the game by hitting their free throws (9 for 12 in the game) and finished it by scoring the last seven points.
Canyon View, which made 14 for 28 from 3-point land in the game, got seven points and eight assists from Joey Lambeth and Trevor Farrow added nine points and five steals.
The Falcons have won two straight after starting the year 2-7.
“We lost all those games in the preseason when we had a two- or four-point lead,” Potter said. “The players have learned a lot – I’ve learned a lot – about how to close out a close game and this time we were able to finish.”
Canyon View plays Providence Hall at 2 p.m. at CVHS on the last day of the Hodson Cancer Classic Saturday. The Patriots come into the game with a 2-7 record, having lost five in a row.
Steve Hodson Cancer Classic (at Cedar High)
Cedar 68, American Leadership Academy 52
Senior Ethan Boettcher led the way with 17 points, including five 3-pointers, as the Redmen captured their sixth win of the year.
Boettcher also had eight rebounds as Cedar dominated the glass to the tune of a 36-20 advantage. The Redmen also shot well, making 20 of 40 from the floor, compared to 18 for 50 from the Eagles.
Cedar outscored ALA 32-22 in the first half and had more points than the Eagles in every single quarter of the game.
“Happy for our boys. We shared the ball and shot the ball well enough to win, going 10 for 20 from 3,” Cedar coach Russ Beck said. “We got better and expect to get better again tomorrow against Millard.”
Cedar starts four underclassmen, including sophomore Dallin Peterson, who had 16 points, and freshman Dallin Grant, who had 12 points and five rebounds.
The game featured a coach and his young mentor in Beck and ALA’s Yahosh Bonner.
“Nothing but love and respect for Coach Bonner and his team, ALA,” Beck said. “We have a friendship that has spanned a decade as I coached him at SLCC and he later served as my top assistant coach at Western Nebraska for three years.”
Jesse Clark had six points and eight rebounds for Cedar, which improved to 6-5. The Redmen play a final game Saturday in the Hodson Cancer Classic with a battle against Millard at 6:30 p.m. at Cedar High.
Utah Autism Classic (at Olympus)
Desert Hills 53, Grantsville 34
Desert Hills 60, Park City 43
The Thunder concluded their up-and-down preseason with two wins Friday. Trevin Lindstrom led the way against the Cowboys in the early game with 17 points and Ryan Marz had a double-14 (points and rebounds) against the Miners to complete the successful day.
“We have had some injury issues and matchup problems this preseason, but I feel good about our going 3-1 in this tournament,” D-Hills coach Wade Turley said. “Tucker (Peterson) is gaining more and more confidence coming back from injury and Ryan Marz really played well in the Park City game.”
Peterson, who missed three weeks with a broken wrist, was a team leader before the injury. He showed he is back Friday with 29 points and 16 rebounds in the two games.
“It helps us a lot when Tucker is back,” Turley said. “He really inspires the team and we played with a lot more energy.”
Desert Hills scored just two points in the first quarter against Westlake Thursday, then turned around and did that to Grantsville in the first game Friday. DH led by four at the half and slowly pulled away from the Cowboys in the second half.
“We really played hard-nosed defense right from the start,” Turley said.
Against Park City, the Thunder blew it open by outscoring the Miners 25-12 in the second quarter. They went to Marz inside early and the big guy responded with 14 points, plus six offensive rebounds and 14 overall.
D-Hills outrebounded Park City 47-32 with Tyler Marz snagging nine and Peterson grabbing six.
The Thunder are done for the preseason and prepare for Friday’s home-opener against Snow Canyon. All 11 of DH’s previous contests were road or neutral site games.
Tri-State Classic at Desert Oasis (Nev.)
Desert Oasis (Nev.) 87, Hurricane 63
It was a magical run for the Tigers, who won four games in two days to set up the tourney championship game. But Hurricane ran into Jacob Heese and that was all she wrote for the HHS win streak.
Heese, the leading scorer in the state of Nevada, made nine 3-pointers and scored 45 points to lift the Diamondbacks to the tourney title on their own floor.
Desert Oasis outscored Hurricane 46-27 in the first half, with Heese hitting two treys and a fast-break layup in the first minute of the game. The Tigers rallied and took an 11-8 lead after a 3-pointer by Jackson Last.
But Kamari Burnside scored five quick points and Nate Van hit a 3-pointer as part of a 10-0 run by the D-Backs and they would not trail again.
Jackson Last did his best to help Hurricane keep pace. The senior guard had 34 points, five rebounds and five assists. But the Diamondbacks blistered the nets, hitting 31 of 49 from the floor (63 percent), including 14 for 24 from 3.
Xayden Jackman and Adam Heyrend had nine points each for Hurricane, which fell to 7-3 with the loss.
The Tigers are off until a Jan. 10 meeting with Pine View at the Tiger’s Den.
Riverton Holiday Classic @ Riverton High
Wasatch 56, Dixie 52
The Wasps rallied from double-digits behind to knock off the Flyers in the semifinals of the tourney.
Dixie, which beat Wasatch by nine three weeks ago, led in this one by as many as 11 in the first half and by six going into the fourth quarter. But the Wasps rallied behind the trio of Brandon Maxwell, Daniel Miller and Logan Parke. All three hit at least one 3-pointer and all ended up with 12 points to help Wasatch avenge its earlier loss.
Tanner Cuff had 22 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead Dixie. Carson Bottema added 12, but no other Dixie player scored more than five.
The loss means the Flyers (7-2) will miss out on a shot at host Riverton and the tourney championship. Instead, the Flyers will play Cottonwood in the third-place game Saturday at 3:15 p.m.
After that, Dixie prepares for its region-opener Friday, Jan. 5, at Pine View.
Thursday’s Region 9 boys basketball scores
Tri-State Classic – Hurricane 72, Sunrise Mountain 28 @ Desert Oasis (Nev.)
Tri-State Classic – Hurricane 52, Mountain View 39 @ Desert Oasis (Nev.)
Utah Autism Classic – Westlake 59, Desert Hills 38 @ Olympus
Riverton Holiday Classic – Dixie 59, Cyprus 52 @ Riverton
Steve Hodson Cancer Classic – Panguitch 50, Cedar 48 @ Cedar
Steve Hodson Cancer Classic – Canyon View 69, Carbon 40 @ CVHS
Steve Hodson Cancer Classic – Cedar 52, Ogden 42 @ Cedar
Friday’s Region 9 boys basketball scores
Tri-State Classic (championship game) – Desert Oasis 87, Hurricane 63 @ Desert Oasis (Nev.)
Utah Autism Classic – Desert Hills 53, Grantsville 34 @ Olympus
Utah Autism Classic – Desert Hills 60, Park City 43 @ Olympus
Riverton Holiday Classic (semifinals) – Wasatch 56, Dixie 52 @ Riverton
Steve Hodson Cancer Classic – Canyon View 67, Spanish Fork 58 @ CVHS
Steve Hodson Cancer Classic – Cedar 68, American Leadership 52 @ Cedar
Saturday’s Region 9 boys basketball schedule
Steve Hodson Cancer Classic – Canyon View vs. Providence Hall, 2 p.m. @ CVHS
Riverton Holiday Classic (3rd place game) – Dixie vs. Cottonwood, 3:15 p.m. @ Riverton
Steve Hodson Cancer Classic – Cedar vs. Millard, 6:30 p.m. @ Cedar
Region 9 Records
Desert Hills 8-3
Dixie 7-2
Hurricane 7-3
Cedar 6-5
Pine View 5-5
Snow Canyon 4-7
Canyon View 4-7
Action during Canyon View High's 67-58 victory over Spanish Fork in the Steve Hodson Cancer Classic, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 29, 2017 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News
Canyon View High's Trevor Farrow shoots a layup against Spanish Fork in the Steve Hodson Cancer Classic, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 29, 2017 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News
Canyon View High's Tyson Potter moves toward the basket for a fast break against Spanish Fork in the Steve Hodson Cancer Classic, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 29, 2017 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News
Senior guard Joey Lambeth dribbles ball toward baseline during Canyon View High's eventual 67-58 victory over Spanish Fork in the Steve Hodson Cancer Classic, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 29, 2017 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News
Canyon View junior Mason Lyman drives toward the basket during the Falcons' eventual 67-58 victory over Spanish Fork in the Steve Hodson Cancer Classic, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 29, 2017 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News
Senior guard Joey Lambeth dribbles ball upcourt during Canyon View High's eventual 67-58 victory over Spanish Fork in the Steve Hodson Cancer Classic, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 29, 2017 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News
Senior guard Brantzen Blackner attempts a free throw during Canyon View High's eventual 67-58 victory over Spanish Fork in the Steve Hodson Cancer Classic, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 29, 2017 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News
Senior guard Brantzen Blackner dribbles the ball upcourt during Canyon View High's eventual 67-58 victory over Spanish Fork in the Steve Hodson Cancer Classic, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 29, 2017 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News
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