Region 9 boys basketball: Desert Hills tops Cedar in 2OT, Hurricane gets 1st region win

ST. GEORGE — In Region 9 boys basketball action Wednesday night, the Desert Hills Thunder outlasted the Cedar Reds in a high-scoring double-overtime thriller, 101-100. In the other three region games Wednesday, Dixie, Crimson Cliffs and Hurricane each posted victories as the regular season reached its halfway point.

Desert Hills 101, Cedar 100 (2OT)

In a game that’s likely to be remembered as a classic, the Desert Hills Thunder eked out a 101-100 win over Cedar at home, as Mason Landdeck drove the length of the court and scored the winning basket with five seconds left in the second overtime. The Reds had no time outs left to set up a play, but Cedar’s Zab Santana still managed to get off a shot at the buzzer, which fell short. 

“It was crazy,” said Desert Hills coach Chris Allred. “A really hard-fought game by two good teams.”

Landdeck’s heroics capped off an amazing 50-point night for the starting guard, who made 16 field goals, including four 3-pointers, and converted 14-of-18 free throws. Landdeck scored 23 points during the two four-minute overtimes – seven points in the first OT and an incredible 16 more in the second.

Cedar at Desert Hills, St. George, Utah, Jan. 27, 2021. The Thunder won the game 101-100 in double overtime. | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Landdeck’s game-winning basket came just seconds after Cedar’s Gaige Savage had stolen the ball and put the Reds ahead 100-99 with a scooping layup off a fast break with about 15 seconds to go.

The Thunder had started off the game strong, posting a 20-11 lead late in the first quarter, but Cedar made an 8-2 run over the last two minutes to make it 22-19 at the end of the first period.

Desert Hills then went on a 7-0 run at the start of the second quarter to push the lead back to 10 points, 29-19. The Thunder stayed about that far ahead for the rest of the second quarter, eventually taking a 45-35 halftime lead.

The Thunder kept their momentum going early in the third, with Landdeck making a baseline shot to put the Thunder up 54-40 with about 5:00 left. Cedar was able to briefly get within five points a few minutes later, but Desert Hills pulled away again, eventually taking a 64-52 lead at the end of the third.

Cedar then scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter, with Santana making two free throws and a 3-pointer, with teammate Aaron Munson converting a three-point play in between.

Cedar at Desert Hills, St. George, Utah, Jan. 27, 2021. The Thunder won the game 101-100 in double overtime. | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Reggie Newby then broke the ice for Desert Hills with a 3-pointer to push the lead back up to seven points, 67-60.

Cedar’s Ty Harrison later hit a big 3 to pull the Reds within three points with just over three minutes left in regulation. Cedar’s comeback continued with baskets by Dallin Grant and Savage, as the Reds managed to tie the game 74-74 with 1:45 left. Each team scored one more field goal to make it 76-76, after which Cedar ran the clock down for more than a minute but were unable to get off a quality shot before the buzzer sounded.

Cedar’s Grant scored the first basket of the first overtime; he would later make one more shot and a free throw before fouling out of the game with 51 seconds left in the first OT.

Less than a minute later, Cedar’s Ty Harrison also picked up his fifth personal foul when he fouled Landdeck with 16.4 seconds left. Landdeck made both free throws to tie the game, 83-83. Once again, Cedar was unable to convert its final shot as the clock ran out, and the game went to a second OT.

The already high-scoring game reached epic proportions during the second OT, as the two teams poured in a collective 35 points in four minutes, with Desert Hills making 18 to Cedar’s 17. 

“It was awesome to win the game, but we have to be better defensively and with rebounding,” Allred added. “We need to value the ball better down the stretch and make better decisions late in the game.”

Cedar at Desert Hills, St. George, Utah, Jan. 27, 2021. The Thunder won the game 101-100 in double overtime. | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Even with Landdeck putting up 50, the Thunder still had three other players score in double figures, as Justin Judkins added 13 and Newby and Keegan Munson each scored 12. Munson left the game with an apparent ankle injury late in the third and didn’t return to action.

Cedar also had four players in double figures, led by Savage’s 30 points. Santana added 24, Grant finished with 22 and Aaron Munson scored 12.

Desert Hills improved to 6-1 in Region 9 with the win. The Thunder host Canyon View on Friday.

Meanwhile, Cedar dropped to 4-3 in region play with its second straight loss. The Reds play at Snow Canyon on Friday.

Dixie 78, Pine View 49

The Flyers scored early and often at Pine View to run away with an easy victory. Dixie scored the game’s first 10 points and 14 of the first 17 during the first four and a half minutes. The Panthers would not be within single digits of the lead for the final 29 minutes of the game.

Dixie rattled off 24 first-quarter points total and limited the Panthers to half that. Alessio Dehart scored nine in the first quarter and finished with a game-leading 18 overall. Pine View simply did not have an answer for his size as he was able to take easy layups in the paint all night.

Eight different Flyers posted at least five points as the game spread out quickly and head coach Tyler Roberts began to bring in the subs. Senior Ryan Jamison led non-starters with seven points. Nick Peterson scored 15 in the absence of Isaac Finlinson and Jeff Cox from the starting lineup and Ethan Bennett scored 13 to round out Dixie’s double-digit scorers. Bennett recorded a double-double with 10 assists.

The Panthers had three players score in double figures: Rushton Shaw with 16, Benson Shepherd with 12 and Lucca Mamone with 11.

The Flyers improve to 6-1 in Region 9 and 12-3 overall. They host the Hurricane Tigers at the Hangar on Friday.

Pine View falls to 3-10 and 2-5 in league play. The Panthers host Crimson Cliffs next.

— written by Rich Allen

Crimson Cliffs 76, Snow Canyon 68

The Mustangs fended off a comeback attempt late on the road. The Mustangs played the Warriors to a tight 33-31 lead by the half before blowing the lead out to 13 points by the third buzzer. Snow Canyon chipped away but got too desperate late to catch up.

Crimson Cliffs at Snow Canyon, St. George, Utah, Jan. 27, 2021 | Photo by Dave Larson, St. George News

In a battle of sophomore big men, Jordan Eaton and Brock Felder teamed up to somewhat control Snow Canyon’s Lyman Simmons on defense and win the battle for offensive rebounds, 10-7.

Trei Rockhill led the game with 23 points for Crimson Cliffs. He scored six buckets from the perimeter. Hudson Hawes finished with 17 points, while Eaton and Cole Sampson each had 12.

Simmons and Blake Munson tied to lead Snow Canyon with 16 points. Ten of Munson’s points came in the fourth quarter. Lincoln Polatis also reached double digits with 14 points on a quartet of 3-pointers.

Crimson improves to 13-2 and 5-2 in league. The Mustangs travel to Pine View on Friday.

Snow Canyon falls to 11-4 and 4-3 in region play. The Warriors host Cedar next.

— written by Rich Allen

Hurricane 46, Canyon View 34

After coming within two points after notching their first region victory last Friday, the Tigers finally pushed through at home on Wednesday night. An explosive second half gave the Tigers the big win, as they scored all but 13 of their points in the final 16 minutes. Hurricane entered halftime with just a 13-11 lead but jumped out to a 32-23 edge by the third horn.

Luke Wright and Cason Esplin led the way for the Tigers, each scoring 10 points. Bubba Moore and Kruz Gardner each scored eight and Jack Reeve added nine. Gardner pulled down 12 rebounds and also had seven blocks.

The Tigers improve to 2-13 overall and 1-6 in Region 9. Wednesday’s victory marked Hurricane’s first region win since Feb. 4, 2020 against Crimson Cliffs. The Tigers travel to the Hangar to take on the Dixie Flyers on Friday.

The Falcons fall to 1-14 overall and 0-7 in league. They play at Desert Hills on Friday.

— written by Rich Allen

Friday’s game schedule (Jan. 29)

  • Crimson Cliffs at Pine View
  • Cedar at Snow Canyon
  • Canyon View at Desert Hills
  • Hurricane at Dixie

Region 9 boys basketball standings (as of Jan. 28)

  1. Desert Hills 6-1 (14-1) RPI: 1st
  2. Dixie 6-1 (12-3) RPI: 3rd
  3. Crimson Cliffs 5-2 (13-2) RPI: 2nd
  4. Snow Canyon 4-3 (11-4) RPI: 8th
  5. Cedar 4-3 (9-5) RPI: 7th
  6. Pine View 2-5 (3-10) RPI: 16th
  7. Hurricane 1-6 (2-13) RPI: 17th
  8. Canyon View 0-7 (1-14) RPI: 20th

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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