Region 10 boys basketball: Dixie remains unbeaten; Crimson Cliffs, Snow Canyon both win to keep pace

Written by E. George Goold
January 18, 2023

ST. GEORGE — The Dixie Flyers emerged at the top of Region 10 standings after three games around St. George on Wednesday night.

Dixie held on to to survive against Desert Hills at home while Crimson Cliffs broke open a close game in the second half to defeat Pine View. Meanwhile, Snow Canyon handled Hurricane at home in a big win.

Following are recaps of Wednesday night’s games as well as the three games from last Friday, Jan. 13.

Dixie 71, Desert Hills 68

What looked like another easy win for the Flyers at intermission turned into a barnburner as Desert Hills unleashed a furious rally from 3-point land.

Dixie hosts Desert Hills, Region 10 boys basketball, St. George, Utah, Jan. 18, 2023 | Photo by Jacqui Knighton, St. George News

The Flyers soared to a 46-33 lead at halftime before the Thunder started making shots in the third quarter.

Desert Hills hit five 3-pointers in the session to get back into the contest. Eli Allred sank two, Lincoln Holmes made two and Boston Holbrook canned a trey as the Thunder suddenly trailed by only six, 60-54, going into the final quarter of play.

“They had 14 3’s,” Dixie coach Tyler Roberts told St. George News after the game. “Usually our perimeter defense is really good, they just hit some tough shots.”

Holmes sank a 3 early in the fourth as Desert Hills kept trying to claw back to tie the game. Holmes finished with a game-high 25 points.

But it would not be enough as Laiken Willden and Breckon Robinson made key layups for Dixie down the stretch.

“We just kept playing trying to play our game, play hard,” Robinson told St. George News after scoring 23 points to lead the Flyers. “I just wanted to come out and play and have fun, be aggressive. Everybody had the green light to go.”

Kyle Lemke poured in 18 points and Grant Carter scored 11 for the Flyers in the win.

Dixie is at Cedar Friday night at 7 p.m. while Desert Hills goes to Snow Canyon, also Friday night at 7 p.m.

Crimson Cliffs 59, Pine View 43

Pine View’s Weston Watkins takes the handoff against Crimson Cliffs in a Region 10 basketball game, Washington, Utah, Jan. 18, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George Utah

The Mustangs and Panthers played a closely-fought first half as Crimson Cliffs took leads of 12-10 and 27-25 after the first and second quarters.

But then Crimson clamped down on defense and outscored the visitors 16-4 in the third quarter, digging a hole that was too deep for Pine View to climb out of in the final session.

Nash Schroeder led Pine View in scoring with his 17 points.

Meanwhile, Jordan Eaton splashed in 21 for the winners.

Crimson Cliffs has a bye Friday night while Pine View hosts Hurricane Friday night at 7 p.m.

Snow Canyon 69, Hurricane 42

The Warriors bounced back from a region loss to Dixie by overwhelming the Tigers in the Jungle.

Snow Canyon gave the Tigers no room to maneuver, taking leads of 19-8 and 37-16 after the first and second quarters.

Senior Owen Mackay continued his dominant season, erupting for 28 points and throwing down a couple of monster dunks that had the home fans on their feet.

Will Warner scored 12 for the winners and Cy Meacham tossed in 10 points. Bear Leavitt pulled down nine rebounds for the Warriors.

Hurricane is at Pine View Friday night at 7 p.m. while Snow Canyon stays home to host Desert Hills, also Friday night at 7 p.m.

Friday night’s games

Dixie 64, Snow Canyon 56

In front of a boisterous home crowd that filled the Hangar to capacity, Dixie’s Jordan Roberts scored 29 points, including a clutch layup in the final minute to put the Flyers up by five and seal the eventual 64-56 victory over the Snow Canyon Warriors. St. George News photographer Aaron Crane captured that key basket in the following video clip:

“What a great team win and amazing atmosphere,” said Dixie head coach Tyler Roberts, who is also Jordan’s father.

Jordan Roberts’ monster game included 9-of-10 shooting from the field (3-for-3 from 3-point range), and converting 8-of-10 free throws. He also dished out four assists and collected four rebounds. Teammate Kyle Lemke contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds. Breckon Robinson and Grant Carter added 8 points apiece for the Flyers

The Warriors were led by Owen Mackay’s 31-point effort, which included six 3-pointers.

“Owen was all but impossible to stop,” coach Roberts said, adding, “Jordan had a good game offensively, taking what was given him. It was fun watching him and Owen exchange baskets.”

Dixie hosts Snow Canyon, Region 10 boys basketball, St. George, Utah, Jan. 13, 2023 | Photo by Jacqui Knighton, St. George News

Tyler Roberts also credited the defensive efforts of sophomore guard John Southwick, who was tasked with guarding Mackay for most of the game.

“John battled and did as good a job defensively as anyone could have against a great player,” Roberts said.

Coach Roberts also cited a few other key contributors for Dixie.

“Kyle Lemke was great on the boards and being a big presence inside,” he said, adding, “Grant Carter, a senior, showed up in a big way and hit a huge 3-point shot to help us get over the hump down the stretch. Breckon Robinson, while not having his best shooting night, had a monster steal with time running down the helped seal the game.”

“All in all, a great team win with everyone doing what they could to get the job done,” Roberts added. “I’m proud of the boys for staying positive and working together to get it done. They showed great poise to grind out a very tough win against a very good and well-coached team.”

— written by Jeff Richards

Cedar 73, Pine View 72

Friday night’s closely battled matchup between the Cedar Reds and the Pine View Panthers wasn’t decided until the final shot of the game.

After Pine View made the go-ahead basket to take a 72-71 lead with just over 20 seconds remaining, Cedar opted not to take a time out and instead brought the ball up the floor to set up one last shot.

As the final seconds ticked down, guard Nate Rogers drove the left-side baseline and made the game winning layup.

“I didn’t call a time out because I trust our kids to make the right play,” Cedar head coach Tyler Monks told St. George News / Cedar City News afterward. “Four different players touched the ball on that last possession, and we got a good look by Nate and he was able to get the shot to go.”

Cedar hosts Pine View, Region 10 boys basketball, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 13, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Landon Kreitzer led the Reds in scoring with 21 points. He also drew charging fouls on Pine View on at least four separate occasions. Also for Cedar, Boston Garrett scored 14, Stockton Albrecht made 13 and Rogers finished with 10 points.

Leading Pine View in scoring was Griffen Shepherd with 25 points, with Nash Schroeder adding 20 and Weston Watkins contributing 10.

“I’m proud of our guys to fight and come back and get a win,” Monks said, adding, “Credit to Pine View for how hard they played. They shot really well and we struggled to get stops early in the second half.”

— written by Jeff Richards

Crimson Cliffs 59, Hurricane 35

Sean Felts scored 15 points to lead the Crimson Cliffs Mustangs to a convincing road win at Hurricane. Phoenix McWillis added 11 points for the Mustangs, who improved to 3-1 in region play.

Region 10 boys basketball standings, as of Jan. 19
    1. Dixie 4-0 (14-2)
    2. Snow Canyon 4-1 (11-6)
    3. Crimson Cliffs 4-1 (10-4)
    4. Desert Hills 2-2 (9-5)
    5. Cedar 1-3 (6-7)
    6. Hurricane 0-4 (2-11)
    7. Pine View 0-4 (1-11)

Photo Gallery

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric George Goold came to St. George News from southwestern Colorado, where he was a radio news reporter. He has been a journalist for over 20 years in five different states. He graduated with a master's degree in English from Kansas State University and writes nonfiction as well. Goold has been published in Sunstone Magazine and has done multiple public readings about local history. When he has free time, he enjoys chess, movies and dogs.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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!