Region 10 boys basketball: Snow Canyon tops Pine View; Mustangs, Thunder both earn big road wins

Written by E. George Goold
February 1, 2023

ST. GEORGE — While region-leading Dixie had the night off, the next three teams in the Region 10 boys basketball standings all won comfortably on Wednesday.

Snow Canyon prevailed at home by 10 points over Pine View, while Crimson Cliffs and Desert Hills both captured high-scoring blowout victories on the road.

Following are recaps of Wednesday night’s three Region 10 contests:

Snow Canyon 73, Pine View 63

Owen Mackay welcomed himself back to the Jungle.

After a sprained ankle forced the Warriors leader to miss a game, Mackay returned to the lineup and poured in a game high 29 points against the Panthers including a thunderous behind-the-back dunk in the first quarter.

Owen Mackay powers for Snow Canyon in a Region 10 boys basketball game against Pine View, St. George, Utah, Feb. 1, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

“Sometimes I feel like I have to take over the game in order to help us win, so that’s what I do,” Mackay told St. George News after the victory brought the Warriors to 5-3 in Region 10 play.

Mackay showed no lingering ankle problems, scoring six points in each of the first and second quarters.

Meanwhile Will Warner sank two 3-pointers as part of his 10 first-half points and Snow Canyon took a 34-28 lead into the intermission.

Weston Watkins sank two 3-pointers in the third quarter and Pine View trailed 51-42 going into the final quarter of play.

Griffen Shepherd and Nash Schroeder netted six points apiece for Pine View in that session and twice Pine View got within five points of catching the Warriors.

Schroeder and Shepherd both finished with 18 points for the Panthers.

But Mackay would not let the gritty Panthers come back, making 4-for-5 free throws as part of his 12 fourth-quarter points.

Warner was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line in the fourth quarter and finished with 17 points for the winners.

With games still left to play against the two teams ahead of them in the region standings (Dixie, Crimson Cliffs) the Warriors feel confident about where they’re at.

“I for sure think we can catch them,” Mackay said. “We’re on a good path right now. We’ll keep playing how we’re playing and we can be up there.”

Snow Canyon next goes to Cedar for a game against the Reds Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.

Pine View next plays at Dixie on the same date and time.

Desert Hills 92, Hurricane 67

At Hurricane, the Thunder rained down 18 3-pointers upon the Tigers, who are still seeking their first Region 10 win.

Desert Hills scored 16 points in the first quarter and tallied 24, 25 and 27 points in the following quarters in a game that was never in doubt.

Lincoln Holmes and Chomp Jones each sank four 3-pointers to lead the Thunder bombardment. Holmes finished with a game-high 26 points for the victors.

Boston Holbrook canned three 3’s, Jackson Holman made two and Trey Landdeck, Ty Attig, Landon Esplin, Ben Chase and Kovin Brazzle all sank single treys in the big Desert Hills win.

Hurricane’s Mason Gilberg led the Tigers with 17 points including three 3-pointers. Cayleb Hackman contributed 12 points for the home team and Nifai Iloa scored 10.

Desert Hills returns home for a pivotal region contest against Crimson Cliffs Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. Hurricane has a bye that night.

Crimson Cliffs 82, Cedar 52

At Cedar, the hot-shooting Crimson Cliffs Mustangs used a 23-0 run in the second quarter to build a 33-point halftime lead over the Reds.

Houston Johnsen of Crimson Cliffs goes up for a reverse layup at Cedar, Region 10 boys basketball, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 1, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Down 52-19 at the half, Cedar rallied to outscore the Mustangs 19-10 during the third quarter but could get no closer than about 24 points, as Crimson went on to lead by as many as 35 late in the game.

Leading the way for Crimson Cliffs was Jordan Eaton, who scored 17 points to lead five Mustang players in double figures. Teammates Luke Johnson added 15, Phoenix McWillis scored 14, Steele Barben made 13 and Houston Johnsen finished with 11.

Cedar’s Landon Kreitzer was the only Reds player to score in double figures. He finished with 23 points, including 15 in the second half. Ty Bronson and Boston Garrett added eight points apiece for Cedar.

Crimson Cliffs next travels to Desert Hills to play the Thunder at 7 p.m. Friday, while Cedar hosts Snow Canyon that same evening.

– written by Jeff Richards

Region 10 boys basketball standings, as of Feb. 2

  1. Dixie 7-0 (16-2)
  2. Crimson Cliffs 6-2 (12-5)
  3. Snow Canyon 6-2 (12-7)
  4. Desert Hills 4-4 (11-7)
  5. Cedar 2-6 (7-10)
  6. Pine View 2-5 (3-13)
  7. Hurricane 0-8 (2-15)

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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

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