ST. GEORGE — The message was clear from Pine View coach Darrell Larsen: Pound the rock inside and good things will happen.
His team finally got the message in the fourth quarter as center Kody Wilstead had 12 of his game-high 19 points in the final period to help the Panthers push past Corner Canyon 58-53.
“We’ve got to do a better job of getting Kody the ball,” Larsen said. “The offense should go through him. Not only is he an excellent scorer and a great athlete, but he’s a very good passer as well.”
Wilstead, who had double-digit rebounds for the seventh time in eight games this year, also dished out a couple of pretty fourth-quarter assists, setting up a 3-pointer by Ryan Koller and another by Chaz Peterson.
“I love to pass the ball,” said Wilstead, who passed the ball for 4,390 yards this past football season. “It’s fun to be at the center of things and to be a leader, but I don’t need to score. I like to set up the other guys.”
Peterson and Koller were also instrumental in the early fourth-quarter run that put the game away for Pine View. Peterson finished with 14 points and Koller hit a big trey as part of Pine View’s 13-0 run to start the fourth quarter.
The final period started with the game tied at 35-35. But the focus was clear for PV in the opening seconds of the fourth, with Wilstead getting fouled on the first possession on a post move, then tipping in a miss, dropping in a bank shot, setting Koller up for the trey, hitting a two-footer and then heading back to the line for 3 of 4 free throws. The 13-0 run covered 3:35 of game time and featured 10 Wilstead points and one Wilstead assist.
“We didn’t play up to our potential last night,” Wilstead said, in reference to the Panthers region loss at Snow Canyon. “I’m tired, but happy. We showed today that we’re a lot better than how we played last night.”
After Peterson’s trey and some free throws, Pine View pushed the lead all the way up to 54-40 with 1:35 to play. The Chargers started flinging, and hitting, 3-pointers and cut it to 55-49 with 35 seconds left. Wilstead made his final point of the night with 2.7 seconds to play to make it 58-50. Corner Canyon guard Michael Ebeling made a 35-footer at the buzzer that caromed high off the rim and then dropped straight down through for the final margin.
The Panthers, 7-1, got 10 points from Koller and Jack Bangerter added eight. Pine View plays Mountain View Friday at 6:45 p.m. at Burns Arena. The Bruins are 4-1.
The Chargers, 2-4, were led by Logan Hudson’s 19 points. Ebeling had 18. Corner Canyon, from Draper, plays at Snow Canyon Friday night at 6:45.
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