Region 9 boys basketball: Dixie gets help from supporting cast; Snow Canyon, Crimson also win

Written by E. George Goold
January 19, 2024
Sean Felts (22) scores two for Crimson Cliffs against Pine View in a Region 9 boys basketball game, Washington, Utah, Jan. 19, 2024 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Crimson Cliffs survived a last-second desperation shot from Pine View to earn a Region 9 boys basketball victory while Snow Canyon and Dixie won going away Friday night.

The Mustang defense applied the pressure in the waning seconds as a 3-pointer missed the mark, giving Crimson Cliffs a 65-64 win over Pine View.  The other region games weren’t as close.

Snow Canyon pulled away from Hurricane in the second half, winning 84-60, while Dixie took care of business, beating Desert Hills 78-47 at The Hangar.

Cedar had a bye Friday night.

Dixie 78, Desert Hills 47

The Flyers silenced the visiting Thunder early, soaring to a 16-5 lead in the first quarter and cruising to victory in the Hangar.

Dixie’s Logan Wideauer scores two against Desert Hills in a Region 9 boys basketball game, St. George, Utah, Jan. 19, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

On a night when Dixie’s stars – Kyle Lemke (12 points) and Jordan Roberts (six points) – were kept relatively under control, the supporting cast stepped up and propelled the Flyers to victory.

Breckon Robinson canned five 3-pointers, erupting for a game-high 28 points for the winners. 

Logan Wideauer was aggressive on both ends of the floor for Dixie, hitting a 3-pointer and using a variety of drives along the baseline on his way to a 15-point finish.

“We came in here and knew we had to play well,” Wideauer told St. George News in the postgame bedlam on the floor of The Hangar. “Breckon played lights out, he played amazing. We rebounded the ball well and came ready to play.”

Wideauer did most of his damage in the second quarter, scoring 11 points to lead Dixie into halftime ahead 38-18.

Then Robinson threw in 11 of his points in the third quarter and the home team was up 62-31.

“I like to play tough defense and get rebounds,” Wideauer said. “I come in and just play my role, get rebounds and drive to the basket.”

Desert Hills tried to stay in the contest with 3-pointers but the Dixie defense didn’t allow the Thunder shooters any space or time.

Eli Allred sank four 3-pointers and netted 15 points while Ben Chase also sank four treys and finished with 14 points for Desert Hills.

“There’s some good teams in region, for sure,” Weidauer said. “I think if we keep playing the way we are, I don’t think anyone can stop us.”

— written by Jeff Richards

Snow Canyon 84, Hurricane 60

At Snow Canyon, a barrage of 3-pointers by the Warriors spelled doom for the visiting Tigers.

Hurricane started strong, hitting a 3-pointer just moments after the opening tipoff. That kicked off a 9-2 run by the Tigers to start the game.

Snow Canyon soon rallied back to take a 16-13 lead after one quarter.

The Warriors outscored the Tigers 23-15 in the second quarter and 28-13 in the third to take a 67-43 lead after three.

The Warriors went on to extend their lead beyond 30 points before Hurricane rallied to make a 9-0 run to end the game.

Snow Canyon star Owen Mackay finished with a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds. Also for the Warriors, Reggie Mackay added 13 points, Owen Iloa made 12 and Trey Kesch scored 11.

Snow Canyon made 11-of-17 shots from 3-point range, with seven different players making at least one trey.

Hurricane, which played without two of its starters, Cayleb Jackman and RJ Hurst, was led by Brigham Kemp’s 16 points, with Calan Hughes adding 12 points and Houston Homer scoring 10.

 

Crimson Cliffs 65, Pine View 64

In a nailbiting thriller at Crimson Cliffs, the Mustangs edged visiting Pine Viewas Trevor Taylor made a driving layup with four seconds remaining to put Crimson ahead by one point.

Pine View (11-5, 3-2) then scrambled to get one last shot off as Nash Schroeder managed to pass the ball down the right sideline to teammate Caleb Schmitt for a contested 3-point attempt that bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

Pine View’s Griffen Shepherd scores against Crimson Cliffs in a Region 9 boys basketball game, Washington, Utah, Jan. 19, 2024 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

“That was a crazy game,” said Crimson Cliffs center Sean Felts, who finished with a game-high 35 points.“It all just came down to defense for us. We’ve been struggling on the defensive end for a couple games in a row now, so we really focused in practice and locked in our defense. And I think that’s what helped us win this game.”

The first half was closely played, with the teams tied at 12 after one quarter and Crimson Cliffs (9-7, 4-2) holding a 32-31 edge at halftime.

The Mustangs began to pull away during the third, outscoring the Panthers 19-12 to take a 51-43 lead heading into the final quarter.

However, the Panthers rallied during the fourth and eventually took the lead before Taylor’s huge go-ahead layup in the final seconds.

Taylor finished the game with 13 points for Crimson Cliffs, while McKay Lindquist added 10.

Meanwhile, Pine View had four scorers in double figures, led by Schroeder’s 18 points. Also for the Panthers, Griffen Shepherd scored 17, Adam Moore added 14 and Trevor Condie contributed 10.

The victory moved Crimson Cliffs into the No. 2 spot in the Region 9 standings as the regular season approaches its midpoint next Wednesday.

— written by Jeff Richards

Region 9 boys basketball standings:

  1. Dixie (14-3, 5-0)
  2. Crimson Cliffs (9-7, 4-2)
  3. Pine View (11-5, 3-2)
  4. Snow Canyon (9-6, 3-2)
  5. Desert Hills (9-7, 2-3)
  6. Cedar (3-13, 1-4)
  7. Hurricane (5-11, 0-5)

Region 9 boys basketball schedule, Wednesday, January 24:

  • Desert Hills at Snow Canyon, 7 p.m.
  • Pine View at Hurricane, 7 p.m.
  • Dixie at Cedar, 7 p.m.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, 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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