ST. GEORGE — The brackets for the 4A boys and girls basketball state championship tournaments were released by the Utah High School Activities Association Wednesday morning, and fans of Region 10 have a lot to look forward to.
Both 4A state tournaments run from Monday through Wednesday next week (Feb. 21-23) at Burns Arena on the Dixie State University campus. Region 10 teams will thereby enjoy a home-crowd advantage over their Region 11 opponents to the north.
First-round games tip off locally this Friday night, with seven games featuring one or more Region 10 teams.
Mark Musgrave, aka “The Voice You Know” from 99.5 Fox Sports South radio show “From the Bleachers,” helped St. George News preview the exciting matchups in each bracket.
4A girls playoffs
Ridgeline earned the No. 1 seed after winning Region 11 in undefeated fashion, 10-0, and posting a 22-1 overall record.
Desert Hills was also unbeaten in Region 10 play, 12-0, and posted a 16-4 overall mark to secure the 4A classification’s No. 2 seed. The Thunder feature an all-senior starting lineup, led by Julia Jacobsen.
“Ridgeline has a freshman phenom in Emilee Skinner; she averages 17 points and seven rebounds a game,” Musgrave said. “It didn’t surprise me that Ridgeline was the No. 1 seed.”
The two top seeds met earlier in the season, at Ridgeline, when the Riverhawks beat Desert Hills 56-47 on Dec. 17. Both teams will get first-round byes on Friday, as will No. 3 seed Sky View.
Snow Canyon, seeded No. 4, will open its tournament run Friday night at home versus No. 13 seeded Logan at 7 p.m.
The Warriors finished second in Region 10 at 10-2 and were 15-6 overall. High-scoring freshman Olivia Hamlin leads a strong and deep team of defenders at Snow Canyon.
Logan comes to Snow Canyon without a win this season.
No. 12 seed Crimson Cliffs finished last in Region 10 with one win and plays fifth-seeded Green Canyon on the road Friday night at 7 p.m.
Dixie and Pine View, seeded ninth and eighth, respectively, will play in the first round at 5 p.m. at Pine View. The two teams met earlier this week on Valentines Day, with Dixie getting a five-point win at home.
That was after Pine View had beaten Dixie 43-36 in their first season matchup on Jan. 25.
Also on Friday night, No. 10 seeded Hurricane will play at No. 7 seed Cedar, starting at 5 p.m. This will also be a rematch of a Valentines Day game, with Cedar winning at home by 14 points on Monday.
Both the Cedar and Pine View girls games on Friday game have been moved to 5 p.m., earlier than other 4A girls contests that night, as Cedar’s boys are hosting a playoff game at 7:30 p.m., while the Pine View boys are playing at Hurricane, also at 7:30 p.m.
“The Lady Tigers have two really good shooters in Morgan Stout and Madi Slack,” Musgrave said. “And Cedar has some really good youth. That should be a great game in Cedar.”
To see the full 4A girls bracket, click here.
4A boys playoffs
Snow Canyon earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament after winning Region 10 with a 10-2 mark and finishing 21-2 overall.
The trio of Owen Mackay, Lymon Simmons and Bowen Hammer have dominated for the Warriors, posing inside and outside threats to defenses.
Dixie finished second in the region with a 9-3 record, 17-5 overall, and secured the No. 2 seed in the 4A state tournament.
The Flyers are led by Bronsen Barben, Cam Dyer, Grant Carter and Kyle Lemke. Dixie recovered from the loss of standout player Risko Brooks, who was injured early in region play.
Both Snow Canyon and Dixie will get first-round byes on Friday along with No. 3 seed Ridgeline, which won Region 11 at 9-1 and 17-5 overall.
“I think the brackets got it right. The top three seeds in both the boys and girls brackets are the best teams,” Musgrave said.
Crimson Cliffs finished with the fifth seed and will host No. 12 Bear River Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Fieldhouse.
“They have potentially four main scorers,” Musgrave said about the Mustangs. “All four of them haven’t put it together in one game yet.”
Hudson Hawes, Jordan Eaton, Jackson McKone and Travis Mathews will look to lead Crimson Cliffs.
“If they all four put it together, Crimson could be really dangerous, making a big run to the championship,” Musgrave said. “If they all play well, they are going to be tough to beat.”
Meanwhile, Desert Hills, winner of its last two games, earned the No. 10 seed and plays at No. 7 Cedar in Cedar City Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in one of the first round’s most intriguing matchups.
The two teams split their season series, with each team winning at home. Cedar won 63-48 on Jan. 14, but Desert Hills beat the Reds 65-52 on Feb. 9.
Those are the same two teams that played in last year’s state championship game, with Cedar, the 2021 tournament’s sixth seed, beating Desert Hills in the finals, 64-59.
“Desert Hills has been playing well. That should be a great game,” Musgrave said. “But it’s always tough to go to Cedar to play. They are tough up there.”
Leading the way for the Reds this year has been the prolific tandem of Zab Santana and Aaron Munson, both of whom were starters on last year’s championship team. They are joined by a supporting cast of mostly younger players.
Also on Friday night, Pine View will travel to Hurricane to face the Tigers, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
“That one for me, too close to call,” Musgrave said. Hurricane beat Pine View by six on Jan. 21, after having one their first matchup by eight on Dec. 15.
The winner of that contest will advance to play No. 1 seeded Snow Canyon in the quarterfinals on Monday.
To see the initial 4A boys bracket, click here. For links to updated brackets, visit UHSAA’s website.
Cedar City News reporter JEFF RICHARDS contributed to this report.
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