RICHFIELD – Southern Utah’s prep teams are representing the region well, with Region 9 going a collective 5-1 for the second straight day in preseason tournament action.
All five of the region’s teams won their games at the 3A Preview Saturday, with Dixie and Pine View once again blowing their opponents off the floor, Desert Hills using a big quarter to seize control of its game, Hurricane winning another close one, and Cedar bouncing back for a big win.
Snow Canyon was the only losing team Saturday, dropping a road game at Bear River in a game that was close for 3 1/2 quarters. Here’s a summary of the day’s action:
Pine View 64, Union 28
No one will blame the Cougars if they refuse to play Region 9 teams again this season. One day after Dixie blasted Union by 16, Pine View took it a step further with a 36-point pasting of the team from Roosevelt.
The Panthers led 32-13 at the half, then stunned Union by outscoring the Cougars 16-0 in the third quarter.
“We still foul a little too much, getting ourselves in bad spots early in the game, but we’re starting to get there defensively,” Pine View coach Ryan Eves said. “In the third quarter, I mean, wow. We didn’t give up a basket. I’m pretty happy about our defense.”
Trey Farrer was dominant inside for the second straight day. The senior center scored 24 points, had four steals, blocked three shots and altered countless others. He had three highlight reel slam dunks in the game.
“Last year, I couldn’t really dunk that much, and now I can and it’s a great feeling – a big adrenaline rush – and it gets your whole team fired up,” Farrer said. “This year, we’re just having so much fun out there. All us seniors have been together since fourth grade, so we’re all best friends and we’re having a great time.”
McKay Lambert made three 3-pointers and had 11 points and eight rebounds and Dylan Hendrickson chipped in nine points as Pine View led 15-2 early. But in the third quarter, things got crazy.
Pine View’s defense forced Union into five turnovers and 10 missed shots in the period while the Panthers continued to consistently score. By the time the third quarter expired, PV had pushed its 32-13 halftime advantage to 48-13.
“I feel like we are tiring teams out in the first half of games by pounding it inside,” Lambert said. “Then they start sucking in on Trey and leaving us open outside for good looks.”
The Panthers hit half their shots from the floor, 26 of 52, and outrebounded the Cougars 35-21, including 16 on the offensive end. Union made just 9 of 34 shots (26 percent) and did not make a 3-pointer in the game.
Pine View, 2-0, plays at Enterprise Tuesday night, then travels to Page, Ariz., to compete in the NGC Tournament Thursday through Saturday. PV is the tourney’s defending champ two years running.
Stats: PV 64, Union 28
Dixie 52, Morgan 36
Kaden Elzy, Kannen Dye and Ty Curtis all had key steals and baskets in the second quarter as the Flyers broke this one open early.
The quick guards in Dixie’s three-guard lineup really bothered the Morgan ball-handlers and Dixie was able to convert turnovers into points in outscoring the Trojans 13-4 in the second to take a 26-16 lead at the half.
The Flyers then put the game away with more defense in the third quarter, with a pair of Elzy baskets helping Dixie extend the lead to 43-24. Dye and Curtis also hit 3-pointers, as did Tanner Cuff and Korbyn Elzy to help Dixie in the win.
“Coach told me not to settle, so I’ve just been trying to find my way to the rim,” Kaden Elzy said. “But I felt good outside, too. They were so focused on Richard (Guymon) that we were getting wide open looks.”
Elzy finished with 13 points, as did Cuff in his role as sixth man, while Guymon had 10 points and eight rebounds, plus a handful of blocked shots and assists.
“We just need to make sure to keep giving Guymon touches,” Dixie coach Ryan Cuff said. “He’s our go-to guy. He is so unselfish. He wants all our guys to be involved and be a team. It would be easy for him to say ‘I gotta score.’ But he’s not that way.”
Curtis’s 3-pointer in the second quarter helped spur Dixie on a 19-8 run.
“When Richard’s on the floor, he attracts all that attention and it frees up a lot of space for us,” Curtis said. “We pride ourselves on our defense. Kannen did a great job on their leading scorer. It’s early on right now, but we’re forming our own identity.”
Dixie, which actually trailed 12-10 late in the first quarter, allowed just four field goals and two free throws in the second and third quarters.
The Flyers are 3-0 and will visit Canyon View Tuesday night before hosting Spanish Fork and Richfield in the Ken Robinson Classic next Friday and Saturday.
Hurricane 52, Richfield 49 (F/OT)
Regan Marshall scored a career-high 18 points, including the go-ahead basket late in the overtime period, to help the Tigers to their second straight close win at the 3A Preview.
With the Wildcats ahead 46-44 and time dwindling to under two minutes left in OT, Marshal drew a foul in the paint and nailed a pair of free throws to tie the game. After a miss by Richfield, Hurricane pushed the ball up the floor. Adam Heyrend pulled up for a 3-pointer, but missed the shot. He rebounded the miss on the front side and shot a contested attempt long, where Marshall was waiting to put it back in for a 48-46 Hurricane lead.
Richfield had three attempts to tie or take the lead, but missed them all and Marshall finally cleared the board and was fouled. He nailed two more free throws with 45 seconds left to make it 50-46.
But the game wasn’t over yet as Reggie Hinck hit a deep trey with 13 seconds left to make it 50-49. After a quick foul, Josh Parker buried two free throws for the 52-49 lead. A last-ditch 3-pointer by the Wildcats was off the mark, sending the Tigers to their third win in as many games.
Hurricane trailed 32-25 heading into the fourth quarter, but outscored Richfield 17-10 in that final period, with Parker hitting a pair of key 3-pointers, including the tying basket with four seconds left in regulation.
Marshall also had eight rebounds and Jackson Last had seven points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Graden Cahoon had six points and nine boards.
The Tigers have won their three games by a combined eight points, with a three-point win over Canyon View, a two-pointer over South Sevier and Saturday’s win over Richfield.
Hurricane was an impressive 14 of 17 from the line and outrebounded the Wildcats 36-18.
The Tigers next head to Page, Ariz., to compete in the NGC Tournament Thursday through Saturday next week.
Stats: Hurricane 52, Richfield 49
Desert Hills 61, Grantsville 54
The Thunder have looked sloppy at times this preseason, but DH always seems to have one eye-popping quarter. Saturday, it was the third, as D-Hills turned a 23-17 halftime deficit into a 45-43 lead after three.
Braxton Porter made four 3-pointers in that quarter, all of them from almost the exact same spot on the right baseline corner.
“We kept telling him to just keep going back to that same corner because man he was good there,” DH coach Wade Turley said. “For a kid that just came off the football field, he’s shooting the ball really nicely for us. He put in a lot of time in the off-season and it’s paying off and we’re happy to see that.”
The Thunder actually led by eight during Porter’s heroics, but Grantsville climbed back into it and had the ball with a chance to take the lead early in the fourth quarter. But Jake Mathews and Tanner Turley hit some big baskets and Mathews buried free throws late to ice the win.
Still, the slow starts in all three of DH’s games to start the year has Turley concerned.
“I don’t like to get on kids early in the year, but at halftime I basically challenged their effort and lack of intensity,” Turley said. “It seemed to help. But we can’t keep getting off to slow starts. You’ve got to play all four quarters to be effective in Region 9.”
Porter also had five rebounds and two steals to go with his 20 points and Mathews scored 17 points with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Tanner Turley had nine points and eight rebounds.
D-Hills is 3-0 and will play Richfield at 6 p.m. Friday and Spanish Fork at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Ken Robinson Classic at Dixie High.
Cedar 62, Tooele 30
The Redmen came out fired up after suffering a loss on Friday and completely destroyed the Buffaloes. Cedar pitched a shutout in the first quarter and held a 34-6 halftime advantage.
At one point in the second quarter, it was 14-0. The Redmen, led by Keenan Nielson, scored 29 points in the second, with Nielson and Ethan Boettcher each hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the period.
Along with his 20 points, Nielson dished out five assists and had six rebounds. Boettcher had nine points and five boards and Abe Brower contributed eight points and five rebounds in the rout.
Cedar was 7 for 15 from beyond the arc while holding the Buffs without a trey on 11 attempts. The Redmen also had 14 assists on 19 made shots and outrebounded Tooele 32-15. Twelve different Cedar players scored in the game.
The Redmen improve to 1-1 on the season and will hit the road for the next three games – at Juab Tuesday, at Salem Hills on Friday and then at Copper Hills Dec. 13.
Stats: Cedar 62, Tooele 30
Bear River Winter Classic
Bear River 73, Snow Canyon 50
It was a four-point game early in the fourth quarter when the Bears exploded for the home loss in the finals of the Bear River Winter Classic.
A slew of fouls on the visiting Warriors helped tip the scales as the Bears nailed 26 of 29 free throws (90 percent) en route to the win.
Sophomore Braden Baker continues to turn heads as he poured in 20 points and is averaging 21.5 points a game through four contests. Point guard Christiam Sullivan also played well, hitting five 3-pointers for his 15 points.
But Bear River’s Mike Litchford was the star of the night, lighting up the scoreboard for 32 points as the Bears improved to 4-0 on the year. Gunner Sorensen chipped in 12 for Bear River.
Baker also had four steals for the Warriors, who fell to 3-1 on the season. Snow Canyon will host a pair of home games next week, with Richfield visiting on Wednesday and Canyon View invading the Jungle gymnasium Thursday.
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