Region 9 boys basketball: Snow Canyon upsets Thunder; Dixie, Crimson, Pine View win on road

Written by Jeff Richards
February 5, 2021
Crimson Cliffs at Hurricane, Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 5, 2021 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — In Friday night’s Region 9 action, the upset-minded Snow Canyon Warriors handed the Desert Hills Thunder their second straight loss. That left the No. 2 spot open for Crimson Cliffs to slide into, as the Mustangs defeated the Tigers at Hurricane. Meanwhile, in Cedar City, Dixie edged Cedar while Pine View pulled away from Canyon View. Here are recaps of each of the four games:

Snow Canyon 66, Desert Hills 53

At Snow Canyon, the hot-shooting Warriors got the drop on the Thunder early on, taking a 19-12 lead after one quarter. Snow Canyon’s Lyman Simmons made 13 points in the first quarter, including three 3-pointers. He had 20 points by halftime and finished with 31. Almost keeping pace with Simmons was Desert Hills guard Mason Landdeck, who also drained three treys during the opening quarter and ended up finishing with 29 points.

Desert Hills at Snow Canyon, St. George, Utah, Feb. 5, 2021 | Photo by Mark Musgrave, St. George News

Snow Canyon continued to build its lead during the second period, taking a 37-25 lead at the half. In the second half, they managed to stay about 10 points ahead the rest of the way.

The edge at the free-throw line went to the Warriors, who converted 19-of-26 foul shot attempts, while Desert Hills was 9-for-12 from the line.

The Thunder had a slight edge from behind the arc, draining 10 3-pointers to Snow Canyon’s nine.

Lincoln Polatis added 13 points for the Warriors, while Walker Morrison added eight.

Snow Canyon, which improved to 6-4 in region play with the win, 13-5 overall, edges past Cedar into the No. 4 spot. Desert Hills dropped to 7-3 with the loss, putting the Thunder into third place in the Region 9 standings and dropping them to No. 3 in the statewide RPI rankings.

Next Wednesday, Snow Canyon plays at Hurricane while Desert Hills hosts Pine View.

Dixie 65, Cedar 60

At Cedar, Dixie used a 16-5 second-quarter run to take a double-digit lead at halftime, 30-20. Cedar then outscored the Flyers 19-13 in the third quarter to get within four points. During the fourth quarter, Dixie continued to take the ball inside, often drawing fouls. Meanwhile, Cedar struggled to hit shots down the stretch, but still managed to rally from nine points down to just three behind during the final minute and a half. Ultimately, Dixie made 5-of-7 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Dixie at Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 5, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Jacqui Knighton, St. George News / Cedar City News

Dixie’s Jeff Cox led the Flyers with 18 points, while Isaac Finlinson and Carson Forsey each contributed 15.

“I was happy with our balanced scoring and our defense,” said Dixie coach Tyler Roberts. “Cedar is always a tough place to play and are very well-coached.”

Cedar was led by Gaige Savage’s 18 points, with Zab Santana adding 14, Treyton Tebbs making 12 and Dallin Grant scoring 11.

Cedar, which fell to 6-4 in region play, 11-6 overall, will play at Canyon View next Wednesday. Meanwhile, Dixie improved to 9-1 and will host 8-2 Crimson Cliffs next Wednesday in a battle between the top two teams in Region 9.

Pine View 57, Canyon View 44

At Canyon View, the Pine View Panthers pulled away from the Falcons in the second half to win by 13.

Pine View at Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 5, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Down 5-0 late in the first quarter, the Falcons drained a couple shots to pull within 8-5 at the end of the quarter. The two teams then battled evenly throughout the second quarter, with Canyon View tying the game 20-20 on a free throw with about two minutes left before halftime. However, the Panthers closed out the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 25-20 lead at the half.

Pine View then outscored Canyon View by four points in each of the final two quarters to account for the final margin. Josh Bice led Pine View with 16 points, while Rushton Shaw added 12.

For the Falcons, Dennis Farrow was the top scorer with 16 points while Brenden Greenhalgh added nine.

Pine View travels to Desert Hills next Wednesday, while Canyon View hosts Cedar.

Crimson Cliffs 58, Hurricane 44

At Hurricane, the Crimson Cliffs Mustangs survived a first-half scare by the Tigers and eventually pulled away in the second half.

Crimson led 12-8 at the end of the first period, after which an offensive explosion ensued in the second quarter as both teams scored 21 points.

But although the Tigers trailed just 33-29 at the half, Hurricane only managed to score three points in the third as the Mustangs inched further ahead.

Crimson Cliffs at Hurricane, Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 5, 2021 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

“It was a grind it out type of game,” said Crimson Cliffs head coach Kasey Winters. “We struggled to get into a good flow the first half, but did a much better job defending and sharing the ball in the second half.”

Trei Rockhill led Crimson with 18 points while Brock Felder added 11.

Hurricane was led by Kruz Gardner’s 17 points, while Kevin Bunn added 12.

Crimson (8-2 in region, 16-2 overall) will travel to Dixie next Wednesday for a showdown against the Flyers. Meanwhile, Hurricane will host Snow Canyon next.

Wednesday’s game schedule (Feb. 10)

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

Region 9 boys basketball standings (as of Feb. 6)

  1. Dixie 9-1 (15-3) RPI: 4th
  2. Crimson Cliffs 8-2 (16-2) RPI: 1st
  3. Desert Hills 7-3 (15-3) RPI: 3rd
  4. Snow Canyon 6-4 (13-5) RPI: 7th
  5. Cedar 6-4 (11-6) RPI: 6th
  6. Pine View 3-7 (4-12) RPI:16th
  7. Hurricane 1-9 (2-16) RPI: 17th
  8. Canyon View 0-10 (1-17) RPI: 20th

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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