ST. GEORGE — With defense at the forefront of both teams’ coaching staffs, Desert Hills proved it may be the best in the region at holding teams down in a 50-42 win over Cedar Wednesday night at the Thunderdome.
“Cedar likes to slow it down and keep everything in front,” DH coach Wade Turley said. “They make you hit shots and we did early. We shared the ball and rebounded hard tonight.”
Austin Adams led the way with 19 points on an off shooting night for DH star Quincy Mathews.
“We went inside early and often to Austin,” Turley said. “We got it to him down low and he went to work.”
With a quick 8-2 start that featured a pair of baskets by Adams, it looked like Desert Hills would never trail in the game. The Thunder held a 26-20 lead at intermission, but the Redmen came out with fire in their eyes, putting together an early run in the third quarter.
It was 28-22 when Cedar opened up an 8-1 run that gave them a 30-29 lead with 4:56 left in the third. Jeff Rogers hit a 3-pointer to start the run and Kyle Wood closed the streak with a three-point play.
But D-Hills responded with a run of its own. The Thunder scored nine unanswered to close out the quarter, allowing no points to Cedar for more than five minutes. Max Mills started the run with a bucket in the lane and Logan Hokanson hit a trey during the run, which made it a 38-30 DH lead heading into the fourth.
The closest Cedar would get in the final quarter was five at 44-39 with about three minutes left.
“As the game got tighter, it seems like the kids tried to do too much on their own,” Turley said. “The game looked pretty rough at times. It’s safe to say that neither one of the teams is where they want to be right now or where they’ll be in a month.”
Mathews finished with 10 points and DH improved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in region.
Cedar, 2-3 and 0-1, got 16 points from Wood and 14 from post Ben Brown.
DH plays in the Ken Robinson Invitational Friday at 6 p.m. vs. Spanish Fork and Saturday at noon vs. Springville. Both games are at Dixie High.
Stats: D-Hills 50, Cedar 42
Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.
Austin Adams (25) shoots over Ben Brown, Desert Hills vs. Cedar, Boys Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 10, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Thunder F Quincy Mathews puts up a shot against Cedars Mason Fakahua (23), Desert Hills vs. Cedar, Boys Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 10, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Cedar's Ben Brown (44) blocks Max Mills shot, Desert Hills vs. Cedar, Boys Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 10, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Max Mills defends for the Thunder, Desert Hills vs. Cedar, Boys Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 10, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Quincy Mathews fires up a three point attempt, Desert Hills vs. Cedar, Boys Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 10, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Austin Adams (25) puts up a close range shot over Mason Fakahua (23), Desert Hills vs. Cedar, Boys Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 10, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Thunder G Tanner Turley takes a 3-point shot, Desert Hills vs. Cedar, Boys Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 10, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Cedar's Christian Taylor makes a pass in the lane, Desert Hills vs. Cedar, Boys Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 10, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Cedar's Josh Boyer (12) drives against Ty Simister, Desert Hills vs. Cedar, Boys Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 10, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News Kyle Wood (15) takes a shot over Tanner Turley (24), Desert Hills vs. Cedar, Boys Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 10, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @oldschoolag
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.