Region 10 boys basketball: Snow Canyon hands Dixie 1st region loss; Panthers, Mustangs also win

ST. GEORGE — The defending 4A boys basketball state champions were determined not to lose at home Wednesday night.

Snow Canyon held on to defeat Dixie in overtime, handing the Flyers their first season loss in Region 10 play and staying in the hunt for the region championship.

Meanwhile, in another thriller, Pine View beat Cedar by one point in the Pit, while Crimson Cliffs ran past Hurricane in the Fieldhouse.

Following are recaps of Wednesday night’s action on the hardwood.

Snow Canyon 58, Dixie 53 (OT)

In a showdown between Region 10’s top two teams, the Snow Canyon Warriors scored the first six points of the 4-minute overtime, then held off one last rally by Dixie to come away with a five-point victory.

Dixie against Snow Canyon in a Region 10 boys basketball game, St. George, Utah, Feb. 8, 2023 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

The closely contested battle was a fan’s delight, featuring clutch baskets and key defensive stops throughout.

In front of a boisterous home crowd that packed the Jungle, Snow Canyon took an early 6-0 lead and had a 14-8 advantage after one quarter.

However, the Flyers went on an 8-0 run during the first half of the second quarter to take a 16-14 lead.

With about 1:30 left in the second quarter, Snow Canyon’s Owen Mackay made an electrifying reverse slam dunk from an alley-oop pass by Will Warner, giving the Warriors a 19-18 lead.

Warner then drained a deep 3-pointer on the next trip down the floor, giving Snow Canyon a 22-18 halftime lead.

The third quarter was closely fought, with multiple ties and lead changes. Snow Canyon’s Karter Murdock swished a 3 at the buzzer to make it 33-33 at the end of three quarters.

Both teams ramped up the intensity even further during the fourth quarter. With about 4:25 remaining, Dixie center Kyle Lemke tipped in a teammate’s missed shot and got fouled. He completed the 3-point play to tie the game at 41-41.

On the Warriors’ next possession, Bear Leavitt drove left and laid it in, also getting fouled. He missed the and-one free throw, leaving Snow Canyon up by two. Dixie’s Breckon Robinson then made a 3 to put the Flyers up 44-43 with 3:40 left.

Mackay answered right away with a jumper that put the Warriors back ahead 45-44. Both teams struggled to add more points during the last three minutes of regulation.

After Grant Carter’s 3-pointer gave the Flyers a 47-45 lead with 1:40 left, Warner tied the game with a 15-footer approximately 30 seconds later.

Dixie turned the ball over on its next possession, after which Snow Canyon’s Cy Meacham made a pair of clutch free throws to take a 49-47 lead with 17.6 seconds in regulation. Dixie’s Carter then answered with a scoop layup inside, tying the game at 49.

Snow Canyon got the jump on the Flyers in overtime, making a 6-0 run that included a couple of fast break drives off steals.

However, the Flyers were able to rally to within two when Lemke made a steal and a layup with about 45 seconds left to cut Snow Canyon’s lead to 55-53.

Snow Canyon missed its next three free throws, giving Dixie a chance, but the Flyers came away empty-handed after missing a shot underneath following the inbounds play.

Warner then swished a pair of free throws with 12.3 seconds left to ice the game for the Warriors by giving them a 57-53 lead.

Mackay led the Warriors in scoring with 21 points, while Warner added 11.

Lemke finished with a game-high 32 points for the Flyers. Robinson added eight points for Dixie, while Jordan Roberts and Carter scored five apiece.

Dixie, which dropped to 8-1 in Region 10 play with the loss, next plays at Desert Hills on Friday.

Snow Canyon, which improved to 8-2 in region, will travel to Hurricane on Friday to face the Tigers.

— reported by Jeff Richards

Pine View 64, Cedar 63

The Panthers and Reds traded punches all game and it wasn’t decided until the very end.

Pine View’s Nash Schroeder pulls up against Cedar in a Region 10 boys basketball game, St. George, Utah, Feb. 8, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Cedar’s Ty Bronson made an 18-footer to put the Reds up 63-62 with 12 seconds left.

Pine View’s Griffen Shepherd answered with a coast-to-coast score. He dribbled the length of the floor and made a shot from the right baseline to put the Panthers on top 64-63 with 5 seconds left.

Cedar was unable to get a shot off thereafter, and Pine View escaped with the win.

Nash Schroeder led the Panthers to the win with his 25 points including four 3-pointers. Shepherd was right behind with 21 points and two 3-pointers.

Kanyon Dickinson scored nine, Tim Long chipped in six and Adam Moore rounded out Pine View’s scoresheet with his 3-pointer.

Two players led the Reds with double-doubles. Ty Bronson scored 22 and grabbed 10 rebounds for Cedar while Stockton Albrecht scored 17 and also grabbed 10 boards.

Landon Kreitzer netted 17 points while Boston Garrett scored five points and had five boards in the setback. And Nathan Rogers completed the Cedar scoresheet with his bucket.

Pine View stays at home to play Crimson Cliffs Friday night at 7 p.m. Cedar has a bye that night.

Crimson Cliffs 56, Hurricane 37

A cold win blew through the Fieldhouse, limiting the visiting Hurricane Tigers to just four points in the first quarter.

Hurricane’s Quinn Gubler looks to pass against Crimson Cliffs in a Region 10 boys basketball game, Washington, Utah, Feb. 8, 2023| Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Meanwhile, Jordan Eaton scored nine of Crimson’s first 11 points.

And then the wind shifted benches and struck the Mustangs, who netted four points in the second quarter.

All in all, the teams combined to miss numerous shots from the field and Crimson took a 15-14 lead into halftime in a sloppy game.

The Mustangs erupted for a 21-7 third-quarter domination to put the Tigers in a hole too deep to climb out of with Hurricane down by 15 entering the final session.

Eaton scored a game-high 23 points to pace the Mustangs in the win.

Crimson Cliffs goes across town to play Pine View in the Pit on Friday night at 7 p.m.

Hurricane also plays Friday night at 7 p.m., at home against Snow Canyon.

Region 10 boys basketball standings, as of Feb. 9:

  1. Dixie 8-1 (17-3)
  2. Snow Canyon 8-2 (14-7)
  3. Crimson Cliffs 7-3 (13-6)
  4. Desert Hills 5-4 (12-7)
  5. Pine View 3-6 (4-14)
  6. Cedar 2-8 (7-12)
  7. Hurricane 0-9 (2-16)

 

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

 

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