Region 10 boys basketball: Mustangs gain some revenge; Thunder, Reds also win

Written by E. George Goold
February 17, 2023
Crimson Cliffs' coach Kent Fairbourn stepped down to become an assistant principal. This file photo is from a favorite game of his, Washington, Utah, Feb. 17, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Region 10 boys basketball championship will be shared this year.

Crimson Cliffs grounded the Dixie Flyers and handed them their second regional loss in the last game of the regular season Friday night.

That means Snow Canyon, which had a bye Friday night, will be Region 10 co-champion with Dixie as both teams finished with records of 10-2.

Each of the seven Region 10 teams will find out their final RPI rankings and 4A state tournament bracket seedings when they are revealed Saturday morning at 9 a.m. on the UHSAA website.

In the other two Region 10 games, Desert Hills won on the road and Cedar defended its home court. Following are recaps of the action on the hardwood.

Crimson Cliffs 68, Dixie 53

Crimson Cliffs’ Sean Felts scores over Dixie in a Region 10 boys basketball game, Washington, Utah, Feb. 17, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

The Mustangs followed a precise gameplan at home against Dixie.

First, they built a big lead, then they slowed things down in the second half and kept Dixie’s offense in check.

“We just didn’t want any wasted possessions, that was really the big thing,” Mustangs senior Jordan Eaton told St. George News after the game. “That’s what they thrive off of, is bad shots from us and getting out and running. So we wanted to make every possession count and it paid off.”

Dixie started the contest like it has almost every game this year — by feeding the ball to Kyle Lemke. The Flyers big man couldn’t be stopped in the paint and scored five straight buckets in the first quarter.

But Crimson Cliffs didn’t flinch. Steele Barben and Scoop Johnson each canned a 3-pointer and the home team lead 16-15 after one.

The Mustangs have a big man too. Junior Sean Felts, one-on-one against Lemke most of the night, scored eight points in the second while Barben swished another 3-ball and Crimson Cliffs took a 35-28 lead at halftime.

And then Barben ignited. The junior, who moonlights as starting quarterback for the Mustangs football team, splashed three more 3-pointers in the third quarter and tallied 13 points in the frame. Barben finished with 19 in the contest.

Eaton sank a trey in the dominant Crimson third as well and finished with 14 for the winners.

The Mustangs took a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter and Dixie could not recover.

Johnson and Felts each scored 12 points to round out Crimson’s double-digit scorers.

Dixie was paced by Lemke’s game-high 28 points, but no other Flyer scored in double-digits. Jordan Roberts scored nine and Breckon Robinson sank two 3-pointers and finished with eight for Dixie in the setback.

The 15-point victory affirmed Crimson Cliffs as the only Region 10 team to defeat both co-champs during the regular season and completed a third-place finish in the region at 8-4.

“We’re going to take that momentum into this next game and we’re excited for the playoffs,” Eaton said.

Desert Hills 62, Pine View 51

Desert Hills hosts Pine View in a Region 10 boys basketball game, St. George, Utah, Feb. 17, 2023 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

The Thunder avenged a loss to the Panthers earlier this season by handling Pine View at home and securing fourth place in the Region 10 standings.

Desert Hills never trailed in the game, leading by two after the first quarter and by five at halftime.

Lincoln Holmes led the Thunder with 20 points, nine of which he scored in the fourth quarter. Jackson Holman was next for Desert Hills with 11 points including three 3-pointers.

Eli Allred contributed 10 points for the winners and Boston Holbrook finished with eight.

Meanwhile Griffen Shepherd and Tim Long formed a two-headed monster for Pine View, each scoring 16 points in the setback. Weston Watkins scored seven and Nash Schroeder finished with six for the Panthers.

Cedar 67, Hurricane 54

The Reds defended their home court in Cedar City and foiled Hurricane in its last attempt to win a Region 10 game this season.
Stockton Albrecht led Cedar’s effort with 17 points including two 3-pointers. Landon Kreitzer was next for the home team with 12 points and six rebounds.
Cedar left little doubt about the outcome after taking a 24-8 lead in the first quarter. The Reds upped that advantage to an insurmountable 39-21 lead at halftime.
Nathan Rogers scored nine points and grabbed nine boards for the winners and Ty Bronson also scored nine along with his four assists.
Mason Gilberg threw in 14 points for Hurricane in the defeat including four 3-pointers. Caleb Jackman finished with a double-double for the Tigers, scoring 11 points and snaring 10 rebounds.

Owen Iloa netted 10 points to round out the Tigers who scored in double figures.

Final Region 10 boys basketball standings:

  1. Dixie 10-2 (19-4)
  2. Snow Canyon 10-2 (16-7)
  3. Crimson Cliffs 8-4 (14-7)
  4. Desert Hills 6-6 (13-9)
  5. Pine View 5-7 (6-15)
  6. Cedar 3-9 (8-13)
  7. Hurricane 0-12 (2-19)

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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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