Region 9 boys basketball: Snow Canyon edges Crimson at buzzer; Desert Hills, Dixie each win big

Written by Jeff Richards
January 6, 2024

ST. GEORGE — Two lopsided blowouts offset by a thrilling one-point win at the buzzer characterized Region 9 boys basketball’s first games of the new year Friday night.

Dixie and Desert Hills both rolled to convincing home wins. Dixie manhandled Hurricane 87-40, while Desert Hills unleashed a barrage of 3-pointers to overwhelm Cedar, 85-61.

Meanwhile, in a thrilling game at Snow Canyon, the Warriors eked out a 75-74 victory over Crimson Cliffs.

Snow Canyon 75, Crimson Cliffs 74

In a tight contest that wasn’t decided until the very last shot, Snow Canyon senior Owen Mackay drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing at the buzzer to give the Warriors a dramatic one-point victory.

Crimson Cliffs started strong, taking a 19-13 lead after one quarter. However, the Warriors outscored the Mustangs 20-10 during the second period to take a 33-29 lead at halftime.

The game stayed close throughout the second half. With 7.6 seconds left to play, Crimson Cliffs led by two points, 74-72. As seen in the embedded video clip embedded here, courtesy of The Fan Sports Network, Mackay takes the inbounds pass, then passes the ball over to teammate Drey Smith at the top of the key, who then passes it back to Mackay just in time for him to release the game-winner. Two other views of the same shot are included in the St. George News video above this story.

 

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The heroic shot capped off a monster night for Mackay, who finished with 35 points, six rebounds and eight assists.

The Warriors improved to 7-4 overall, 1-0 in Region 9 play. Snow Canyon next plays at Pine View on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m.

The loss dropped Crimson Cliffs to 5-7 overall, 0-2 in region. The Mustangs next play at Cedar on Wednesday, Jan. 10.

Desert Hills 85, Cedar 61

At Desert Hills, the Thunder rained down an impressive array of 17 3-pointers on the visiting Cedar Reds, ultimately rolling to a 24-point victory.

Cedar at Desert Hills, Region 9 boys basketball, St. George, Utah, Jan. 5, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Desert Hills sank 11 treys in the first half as the Thunder took a 43-26 lead at halftime.

The offensive attack continued in the third period, as Desert Hills put up another 27 points in the frame, including five more 3-pointers.

The Thunder’s 17th and final 3-pointer of the night came on a shot by guard Mason Rasumussen, who was fouled during the attempt and ended up converting the four-point play. Rasmussen finished with a game-high 22 points, while fellow guard Jackson Holman added 17. Each of them finished with five 3-pointers.

Also contributing to the Thunder’s balanced scoring attack were Eli Allred with 19 points including four 3-pointers and Ben Chase with 12 points, nine of them coming during the third quarter.

Desert Hills saw 10 different players score and six different players make at least one 3-pointer.

Cedar was led by Tate Stubbs’ 16 points, including three 3-pointers. Easton Albrecht added 14 points for the Reds, while Landon Kreitzer contributed 13.

With the victory, Desert Hills improved to 8-5 overall, 1-1 in Region 9 play. The Thunder host Hurricane next Wednesday, Jan. 10.

Cedar dropped to 3-13 overall, 1-1 in region. The Reds next host Crimson Cliffs on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m.

Dixie 87, Hurricane 40

At Dixie, the Flyers, led by center Kyle Lemke’s 29 points, soared to a 47-point victory over the Hurricane Tigers.

Dixie’s Kyle Lemke dunks the ball vs. Hurricane, St. George, Utah, Jan. 5, 2024 | Photo by Jacqui Knighton, St. George News

Dixie scored 25 points in each of the first two quarters and added 24 more in the third, at which point the Flyers led 74-33. That huge lead triggered the running clock mercy rule for the fourth quarter, hindering the Flyers’ chances of reaching the century mark.

Also putting up big numbers for Dixie were Breckon Robinson and Logan Weidauer, who scored 21 and 18 points, respectively, along with guard Jordan Roberts, who dished out 18 assists to go with his six points and six rebounds.

Hurricane was led by RJ Hurst’s 12 points, with Houston Homer adding nine points.

The Flyers were coming off an eventful pre-New Year’s Eve weekend, during which they went an impressive 3-1 at The Classic at Damien invitational tournament in La Verne, California. Dixie started the tournament with a 57-56 win over Etiwanda on Wednesday, Dec. 27, followed by a 73-67 victory over St. Bernard the following day. Then on Friday, Dixie defeated West Ranch 75-69, setting up a Saturday showdown vs. San Ramon Valley, which ended with Flyers on the losing end of a 69-68 score.

Friday’s win over Hurricane gave Dixie a 10-2 overall record, including 2-0 in region play. Dixie has a bye next Wednesday but will next play at Pine View on Friday, Jan. 12.

Hurricane, meanwhile, fell to 5-8 and 0-2. The Tigers next play at Desert Hills on Wednesday, Jan. 10.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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