Region 9 boys basketball: Crimson, Desert Hills, Dixie, Pine View pick up wins

ST. GEORGE — A full slate of Region 9 boys basketball games produced some tight contests and one blowout Wednesday night. Here are the scores from around the league:

Crimson Cliffs 67, Hurricane 41

Hurricane basketball at Crimson Cliffs, Washington, Utah, Jan. 13, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News

The Mustangs survived an uncharacteristically low percentage shooting night and a slow start to pull away from the Tigers in the second half.

Crimson Cliffs landed 12 field goals in the first half, but only two were of the three-point variety. Its three-headed monster of Trei Rockhill, Hudson Hawes and Cole Sampson scored just seven of the team’s 27 first-half points. Rockhill, at times the team’s highest scorer, was without a point in the first half and saw limited playing time after getting into foul trouble.

“It took us a minute to get going in the first half,” Crimson Cliffs head coach Kasey Winters said. “Hurricane slowed it down a little bit, so we had to pick the intensity and the pace a little bit in the second half. We started pressing a lot more up and down.”

Hurricane basketball at Crimson Cliffs, Washington, Utah, Jan. 13, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News

Rockhill was the main beneficiary of the Mustangs’ ramped-up tempo in the second half. He scored all of his team-leading 13 points during the third quarter, including three buckets from the arc. The Mustangs scored 23 in the quarter to increase their lead from seven points at the start to 21 by the intermission.

Hawes was second on the Mustangs with 10 points.

For Hurricane, Bubba Moore led the way with 13 points, going 7-for-8 on free throws. Moore also had five rebounds, one behind Jack Reeve for the team lead.

Crimson Cliffs secures its 10th win of the season in 11 games and improves to 2-1 in Region 9 play. The Mustangs host the Flyers on Friday.

Hurricane falls to 1-10 and 0-3 in Region 9. The Tigers travel to Snow Canyon for their next game.

Desert Hills 72, Snow Canyon 58

Mason Landdeck scored 29 points including 13 in the first quarter to keep the Thunder undefeated as they topped the Warriors at home.

Landdeck landed four from the perimeter in the first quarter. He went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line, eight of those coming in the fourth quarter. Keegan Munson scored 16, Reggie Newby scored 14 and Nate McMillan scored 10 to give the Thunder a quartet of double-digit scorers. Munson had nine rebounds.

Desert Hills led by nine points at the end of the first quarter, 11 at the half and nine again at the third intermission before pulling away slightly in the fourth.

Lyman Simmons scored 25 points on eight field goals and a 6-for-8 effort from the free-throw line.

Desert Hills is undefeated through 11 games. The Thunder travel to Pine View on Friday.

Snow Canyon drops to 8-3 overall and 1-2 in Region 9 play. They host Hurricane on Friday.

Dixie 62, Cedar 59

The Hangar at Dixie High proved to be the site of a barnburner Wednesday night, as the Flyers outlasted the Cedar Reds, 62-59.

After Dixie’s Jeff Cox hit 2-of-4 free throws during the final 15 seconds, Cedar’s Dallin Grant attempted a potentially game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, but Grant’s shot hit off the front rim and bounced away.

Dixie had started strong, taking a 21-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, Cedar then went on a 13-2 run to retake the lead. The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes.

Isaac Finlinson banked in a shot from inside the key to put Dixie up 29-28. That basket was followed by a field goal by Ethan Bennett, who scored 21 of Dixie’s 31 first half points, including 17 in the first quarter

But Cedar’s Zab Santana drilled another trey — his third of the quarter — to knot the score 31-31 at the halftime intermission.

The score stayed close throughout the third quarter, which ended on an inside shot by Grant that put Cedar up 48-46.

Bennett, who didn’t score at all during the third period, drained a 3-pointer at the start of the fourth to put Dixie back up, 49-48.

A couple minutes later, Grant passed inside to Gaige Savage underneath the basket to tie the score at 50 with about 5:30 left.

With three minutes left, Dixie was up by three and hanging on to the lead.

Then, with just 15 seconds left and Dixie still ahead by three, Cox went to the line for two free throws. He missed the first but made the second, putting the Flyers up by four, 61-57.

Cedar’s Treyton Tebbs then drove down and scored a layup, bringing the Reds within two with 5.8 seconds left. Cedar fouled Cox almost immediately on the inbounds pass, sending him to the line again.

This time around, Cox made the first but missed the second. Cedar rebounded and managed to get down the floor in time for Grant’s last attempt to tie.

“We have to shoot better from the free throw line if we want to win those tough close region games,” said Dixie head coach Tyler Roberts, who noted the Flyers were just 13-of-23 in foul shots on the night.

“Cedar is a very good team and well coached,” Roberts added. “We knew they would come out and play us tough, but I’m proud of the way our guys kept grinding. We came up with some stops and rebounds when we needed them.”

Bennett ended up leading all scorers with 26 points, while Finlinson added 21 points and a team-high eight rebounds for Dixie.

Meanwhile, Grant finished with 24 points for Cedar, while Santana scored 19.

Dixie improved to 9-2 overall, 3-0 in Region 9 play. The Flyers next play at Crimson Cliffs on Friday. Cedar, meanwhile, fell to 7-3 with the loss, 2-1 in region. The Reds play their next game Friday at home when they host cross-town rival Canyon View.

— written by Jeff Richards

Pine View 60, Canyon View 56

A close contest the whole way, the Panthers edged out the Falcons at home.

Canyon View basketball at Pine View, St. George, Utah, Jan. 13, 2021 | Photo by Dave Larson, St. George/Cedar City News

The teams were never separated by more than five points.

“It was a battle for sure,” Pine View head coach Ryan Eves said. “Canyon View played super hard. We battled, got a few stops down the end and found a way to win.”

Pine View held Canyon View to a game-best 11 points in the fourth quarter. The Panthers trailed by three points with four minutes to play when Bensen Shepherd stole a pass to the flank, stormed down court and hit the layup to pull within one.

The Falcons scored only five points in the remaining time in the game, while Pine View rattled off 10.

Shepherd tied with Josh Bice to lead the game with 18 points each. Shepherd landed two of Pine View’s three field goals from behind the arc.

Hayden Zobell led Canyon View with 11 points.

The Panthers secured their first Region 9 win of the season to move to 1-2 and 2-7 overall. They host Desert Hills on Friday.

Canyon View moves to 0-3 in league play and 1-9 overall. It travels to Cedar on Friday in a battle of the two Cedar City schools.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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