ST. GEORGE — The Snow Canyon Warriors face a difficult road on their journey working towards back-to-back 4A boys state basketball championships.
The Warriors are the No. 4 seed in next weekend’s state tournament in Logan, according to the 4A brackets released by the Utah High School Activities Association early Saturday morning.
“I felt like that was where we were going to be, based on where the numbers are at,” Snow Canyon coach Doug Meacham told St. George News.
The Warriors will host No. 13 Green Canyon (5-16, 2-8 Region 11) in a first-round game Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Jungle.
“We played them before and saw them,” Meacham said. Snow Canyon beat Green Canyon 62-57 on Dec. 16.
“Every team grows through the year and gets better,” he added. “Coach (Logan) Brown does a great job and gets them chances to win games. In their region they played a lot of close games throughout the year.”
The Warriors finished 17-7 in their title defense including a 10-2 mark in Region 10. Snow Canyon earned a share of the Region 10 championship after Crimson Cliffs defeated Dixie Friday night.
Meacham noted that Crimson played with a lot of poise in that game and said coach Kent Fairbourn had his troops dialed in against Dixie.
“I think it’s awesome,” Meacham said about earning a share of the region championship after Dixie’s loss. “Any time you get to hold a trophy and come away with at least part of a championship in our region, it means a lot to the guys.”
Junior sensation Owen Mackay leads Snow Canyon, and most of Utah for that matter, in scoring. And senior Will Warner has provided vital experience and energy for the Warriors. Last year, Snow Canyon took advantage of the home crowd as the tournament was played at Burns Arena, on the campus of Utah Tech University in St. George.
This time around the Warriors will have to beat both the crowd and the team they are playing against in the tournament at Utah State University in Logan, the home of Region 11.
“That was a big advantage, it felt like a home game last year,” Meacham said. “It’s probably fitting that we go back and return the favor. It makes for an exciting experience to go and play in Utah State’s arena and we’re excited hopefully to get there.”
Region 10 co-champ Dixie (20-4) earned the No. 2 seed and a bye in the first round of the state tournament.
Region 11 champion Sky View (20-2) is the No. 1 seed and will also have a bye in the first round.
Other first-round 4A boys games on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. will pit No. 12 Mountain Crest at No. 5 Crimson Cliffs; No. 9 Bear River at No. 8 Logan; No. 10 Cedar at No. 7 Desert Hills; No. 14 Hurricane at No. 3 Ridgeline; and No. 11 Pine View will go on the road to face 4A tournament newcomer No. 6 Layton Christian Academy.
Then the rest of the 4A state tournament gets underway Thursday, Feb. 23 with the boys championship game slated for Saturday night, Feb. 25 at 5:30 p.m.
4A girls state tournament
In the UHSAA brackets released Saturday morning, Region 11’s Ridgeline finished unbeaten in the regular season at 22-0 and earned the No. 1 seed in the girls state tournament.
Region 11’s Sky View (15-6) earned the second seed and will get a first round bye along with the Riverhawks.
Region 10 champion Snow Canyon (17-5) is the No. 3 seed and gets the final bye in the first round.
Matchups in the 4A girls first round on Tuesday, Feb. 21 include the following:
No. 13 Logan at No. 4 Green Canyon; No. 12 Crimson Cliffs at No. 5 Dixie; No. 9 Hurricane at No. 8 Desert Hills; No. 10 Cedar at No. 7 Mountain Crest; and No. 11 Pine View will go to No. 6 Bear River.
Then the rest of the 4A state tournament gets underway Thursday, Feb. 23 with the girls championship game scheduled for Saturday afternoon, Feb. 25 at 3:00 p.m.
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