ST. GEORGE — They are undefeated in region play and currently sit at No. 1 in the 4A RPI rankings.
And this week, the Dixie boys basketball team travels to Cedar on Wednesday and hosts Crimson Cliffs on Friday, nominated as The Fan’s Game of the Week. The Flyers are coming off a pair of victories last week — 70-54 over Snow Canyon and 78-47 vs. Desert Hills.
Meanwhile, the second-place Mustangs, who are ranked No. 11, went 2-0 last week, handling Hurricane 76-64 on Wednesday and surviving a desperation 3-pointer to squeak by Pine View 65-64 at home Friday.
Speaking of RPI rankings, Pine View sits at No. 6 and is the only other Region 9 team besides Dixie in the top 10. Snow Canyon and Desert Hills rank 13th and 16th.
Catch the action on The Fan
Devin Dixon and Paul Ratliff with have the call Wednesday night when Desert Hills takes on Snow Canyon. Click here to access the live stream.
And Friday night, Dixon and Connor Collins will handle Pine View at Desert Hills, while Kaden Foremaster and Ben Lindquist call Crimson Cliffs at Dixie.
Check out the St. George News website and app for up-to-date scores, stats and standings as our team of E. George Goold, Jeff Richards and Aaron Crane fan out to cover the Region 9 hardwood.
And weekdays on The Fan, catch Dixon from 7-9 a.m. on The Drive and Foremaster and Mark Musgrave from 4-6 p.m. as they present From The Bleachers.
Who’s got game?
Desert Hills vs. Snow Canyon
Both the Thunder and the Warriors fell to Dixie last week. So this could be a crucial game for both teams’ chances to fight back up into the top 8 by the end of the regular season.
Eli Allred vs. Owen Mackay is worth the price of admission. Mackay is averaging 23.5 pts per game to rank second in 4A, and Allred scores 19 points per game, good enough to rank sixth.
This game has star power, but it may come down to the supporting cast. The Thunder are missing Jackson Holman, so look for Hunter Clark or Mason Rasmussen to step up if the Thunder win. If Snow Canyon wins, it’s probably because Owen Iloa or Carter Campbell have a big game.
Crimson Cliffs at Dixie
It’s crazy that this is the third meeting already this season between these two teams with Dixie winning by 15 in a preseason championship tourney and then by 16 at Crimson on Dec 20.
The Mustangs played some of their best offense of the season last week, led by Sean Felts who scorched the nets for 39 and 35 in wins over Hurricane and Pine View.
The “matchup within the matchup” is certainly Felts and Lemke, who were AAU teammates AAU last summer. Lemke scores 20.9 PPG and Felts is at 20.5 PPG.
If Crimson is going to pull the upset, it will likely need to hold the Flyers under 60 points.
Pine View vs. Desert Hills
This is a huge game here for the Panthers after a heartbreaking loss last Friday.
Nash Schroeder and Griffin Shepard have been solid all year and the supporting cast is getting it done for Coach Amico. Desert Hills, regardless if they win or lose to Snow Canyon on Wednesday, knows they have a tough week. But two wins changes the complexion of the rest of the regular season for the Thunder.
These two teams met Dec. 20 and Pine View won at home by 15. Nash Schroeder had 32, and the Thunder can’t let him go off if they want to split the season series. Meanwhile, the Thunder should get a boost from the home crowd and this one could come down to the wire.
— Compiled by Devin Dixon
Scorebook stat leaders
- Dixie’s Jordan Roberts ranks first in the state with 11.3 assists per game.
- Hurricane’s Cayleb Jackman is the overall leader with 5.8 blocks per game.
- Own Mackay is the fourth-ranked scorer at 23.7 points per game.
(NOTE: Rankings are overall and not by school size classification.)
Region 9 boys basketball schedule
Wednesday, Jan. 24
- Desert Hills at Snow Canyon, 7 p.m.
- Pine View at Hurricane, 7 p.m.
- Dixie at Cedar, 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 26
- Cedar at Hurricane, 7 p.m.
- Crimson Cliffs at Dixie, 7 p.m.
- Pine View at Desert Hills, 7 p.m.
Region 9 boys basketball standings
- Dixie (14-3, 5-0)
- Crimson Cliffs (9-7, 4-2)
- Pine View (11-5, 3-2)
- Snow Canyon (9-6, 3-2)
- Desert Hills (9-7, 2-3)
- Cedar (3-13, 1-4)
- Hurricane (5-11, 0-5)
Click here to view last Friday’s recap.
Beyond Region 9
Canyon View, at 11-5 overall and 6-2 in 3A Region 12, is ranked No. 4 behind South Summit, Manti and Emery. Meanwhile, up the road in Richfield, the Wildcats are sitting at No. 6. with a mark of 10-6 and 6-2, tied with Canyon View for second in the region behind Manti.
Enterprise (13-5, 6-1) and Kanab (12-5, 5-2) and rank Nos. 1 and 2 in 2A Region 18. The Cowboys won the first meeting 64-59 on Jan 10; the rematch is set for Feb. 2 with the Wolves hosting.
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