Region 10 boys basketball: Mustangs edge Thunder; Flyers, Warriors win big

ST. GEORGE — Region 10 boys basketball Wednesday night featured an old-fashioned defensive nail-biter and two blowouts.

At Crimson Cliffs, the Mustangs held on for a one-point victory over backyard rival Desert Hills.

At Snow Canyon, the defending 4A state champion Warriors continued to roll, while the Dixie Flyers soared to another big win at Pine View.

Following are recaps from Wednesday night’s games, followed by those from last Friday night’s contests.

Crimson Cliffs 42, Desert Hills 41

Crimson Cliffs hosts Desert Hills in Region 10 boys basketball, Washington City, Utah, Jan. 11, 2023 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

The Mustangs prevailed in a backyard brawl at the Fieldhouse.

Crimson Cliffs (8-4 overall, 2-1 in Region 10) jumped out to an 11-10 lead after one quarter, but Desert Hills fought back to take a 21-19 advantage into halftime.

The rivals battled to an 11-11 third session before the Mustangs held on to win a nail-biter that was contested until the final possession.

Phoenix McWillis made one shot all night, but it was a dagger 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for the Mustangs.

Jordan Eaton led Crimson’s effort with 18 points including three 3-pointers.

Desert Hills (9-4, 2-1) saw only three players score points in the setback. Lincoln Holmes led all scorers with 19 points including three from behind the arc.

Eli Allred scored 15 points for the Thunder and Chomp Jones completed the Desert Hills scoresheet with seven points.

Crimson Cliffs plays Friday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. at Hurricane.

Desert Hills, meanwhile, next plays Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. at Dixie.

Snow Canyon 59, Cedar 40

Snow Canyon’s Owen Mackay flushes an alley-oop against Cedar in a Region 10 boys basketball game, St. George, Utah, Jan. 11, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

The Warriors (10-5, 3-1) and Reds battled through a close first half in the Jungle. 

Cedar (5-7, 0-3) was led at the start by junior Landon Kreitzer, who sank a couple of mid-range jumpers. Senior Stockton Albrecht scored the game’s first bucket on a layup.

Cy Meacham had an early 3-pointer and Snow Canyon led 14-12 after the first quarter. The Warriors maintained that slim two-point advantage, 27-25, going into halftime.

But then Snow Canyon clamped down on the visitors, holding Cedar to just seven points in the third quarter and eight points in the fourth.

Senior Owen Mackay put on a show for the home fans.

Despite going 1-for-6 from 3-point land, Mackay sank nine field goals and posted a game-high 27 points. He shot 8-for-9 from the free throw line.

Will Warner chipped in with 11 points for Snow Canyon and Meacham completed the trifecta of double-digit scorers with his 10 points including two 3-pointers. 

Dixie 72, Pine View 49

After a closely matched first quarter at Pine View, the Dixie Flyers staged a 12-0 run and never looked back in a convincing win over the Panthers.

Three minutes into the game, Dixie led 9-3, but Pine View rallied to tie the score 9-9 less than one minute later. 

With 2:35 left in the first, the score was still tied 11-11, but Dixie closed out the quarter on a 4-0 run, then scored the first eight points of the second quarter to pull ahead 23-11. The Panthers finally broke the ice with an inside shot to make it 23-13 with 5:40 left in the first half.

Dixie managed to stay about 10 points ahead for the rest of the quarter, taking a 34-22 halftime lead.

Pine View hosts Dixie in Region 10 boys basketball, St. George, Utah, Jan. 11, 2023 | Photo by Jacqui Knighton, St. George News

The Flyers came out strong in the third, scoring the first eight points of the period. Dixie then stayed ahead by around 20 points for the remainder of the contest, although Pine View briefly did cut the deficit to 15 points on a Nash Schroeder 3-pointer with around 3:18 left in the third.

Dixie’s balanced scoring attack saw five players finish in double figures, with big man Kyle Lemke leading the way with 16 points, John Southwick adding 14, Breckon Robinson making 13, Grant Carter with 12 and Jordan Roberts with 11.

Roberts also finished with nine assists and six rebounds, while Lemke collected eight rebounds and dished out five assists.

“Balanced scoring is the key for us,” Dixie head coach Tyler Roberts told St. George News after the game. “We always have five guys that can score at any time on the floor.”

“I love how unselfish our guys are at making the extra pass,” Roberts added. We gave up good shots for great shots and had over 25 team assists.”

“Pine View played a great first half and are always well coached,” Roberts said, noting that he had his players focus on better execution on both ends of the floor during the second half.   

Schroeder finished with a game-high 21 points for Pine View, while teammate Griffen Shepherd added 10.

Roberts said he was particularly happy with Southwick’s defensive effort on Shepherd.

“I’m proud of him and how hard he plays, holding (his man) way under his average,” Roberts said of Southwick.

Dixie improved to 2-0 in Region 10 with the win, 12-2 overall. The Flyers next host Snow Canyon on Friday at 7 p.m. Pine View, which fell to 1-9 and 0-2, plays at Cedar on Friday night.

– written by Jeff Richards

Last Friday’s Games

Snow Canyon 53, Pine View 37

Senior Owen Mackay started out on fire and finished that way as the Warriors clamped down on the Panthers in the Pit.

Pine View defended its home turf and took a 16-14 lead after the first quarter. The teams continued a low scoring affair with Snow Canyon nursing a 28-26 lead at halftime.

The Warriors made defensive adjustments at the break and held the home team to just five points in the third quarter and six points in the fourth. Meanwhile, Mackay poured in 26 points including two 3-points and pulled down 12 rebounds in his double-double effort.

Griffen Shepherd scored 15 points to lead the Panthers. Four other players (Weston Watkins, Nash Schroeder, Kanyon Dickinson, Trevor Condie) scored five points apiece for Pine View.

Crimson Cliffs 70, Cedar 49

The Mustangs stormed out of the barn with 44 first-half points and never looked back against the Reds.

Crimson Cliffs hosts Cedar in Region 10 boys basketball, Washington City, Utah, Jan. 6, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Crimson Cliffs saw four different players score in double digits. Jordan Eaton led the way with 16 points. Phoenix McWillis was next with his 14 points. Luke Johnson netted 12 for the Mustangs and Steele Barben completed a balanced scoresheet with 11 points.

A combination of cold shooting and tough defense held the visiting Reds to 12 points in the third quarter and six in the fourth.

Stockton Albrecht scored a game-high 18 points, including three 3-pointers, in Cedar’s effort. Nathan Rogers chipped in with 12 points and two 3-balls in the setback.

Desert Hills 83, Hurricane 41

The Thunderdome rumbled all night as Desert Hills set the tone in the first quarter, taking a 21-6 lead. Hurricane fell behind 48-16 at halftime and never got into the contest.

Senior Lincoln Holmes had a busy night, leading all scorers with 21 points for the Thunder. He also posted six rebounds, sank three 3-pointers, dished out two assists and had a steal.

Boston Holbrook (12 points), Jackson Holman (11 points) and Chomp Jones (10 points) completed the balanced list of double digit scorers for Desert Hills.

Cayleb Jackson led Hurricane’s effort with 17 points and five rebounds for the Tigers.

Region 10 boys basketball standings, as of Jan. 12
  1. Snow Canyon 3-0 (10-5)
  2. Dixie 2-0 (12-2)
  3. Desert Hills 2-1 (9-4)
  4. Crimson Cliffs 2-1 (8-4)
  5. Hurricane 0-2 (2-9)
  6. Pine View 0-2 (1-9)
  7. Cedar 0-3 (5-7)

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!