ST. GEORGE – In the popular Disney movie “Pirates of the Caribbean,” Jack Sparrow has to point out that Will Turner missed his elusive opportune moment. Tonight the Cedar Redmen were careful to make the most of their opportune moment in their Region 9 hardwood battle against Dixie.
After a sub-par first half, the Redmen trailed at halftime, but exploded for 45 points in the second en route to a 68-46 blowout of the Flyers. In a classic example of a tale of two halves, Cedar stole the momentum and the game from the hometown team.
But head coach Craig Cardon insisted his team didn’t do anything different in the second half. Except score more points, of course.
“I didn’t make any (adjustments),” Cardon said. “The kids just decided to come and play hard, play a little bit faster, play with more intensity and with a bigger sense of urgency. I didn’t do anything. It was all the kids.”
The Redmen turned it around early in the third quarter and never looked back. Dason Coronado sparked the run with a pair of treys and Mike Hourigan came alive to finish with 14 points, all in the second half.
“In the second half, we picked up the tempo and got running a little bit,” Hourigan said. “That’s who we are. I drank my Zipfizz late so it took me a little while to get my juices flowing. That’s when it kicked in.”
Dustin Staggs led the Redmen with 17 points and played a crucial role in keeping Cedar in the game in the first half. Brock Englestead added 15 points and Coronado finished with 1o points to round out the double-figure scorers.
The Flyers, on the other hand, watched as the opportune moment slipped from their grasp. Only four Dixie players scored on a night where shots that were available and falling in the first half were not to be found in the second. Kyler Smith led all scorers with 19 points and Dakota Bair finished with 13 points. Blake Barney added 11 points, but the story of the game for Dixie was missed free throws. The Flyers shot less than 3o percent from the stripe and left more than 10 points on the table.
The Redmen capitalized on the Flyers’ missed opportunities and quickly ran away with the game and their third region victory.
“We have so many guys that can score,” Englestead said. “Everyone has a role and if they’re doing it, we are a phenomenal team. When we’re all playing together we’re great.”
Cedar improves to 3-0 in region play and has a full week to prepare for another trip to St. George to take on Snow Canyon on Friday. Dixie falls to 1-2 in the region and heads to Cedar to take on Canyon View on Wednesday.
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