Region 10 boys basketball: Crimson Cliffs stays unbeaten in region play; Pine View, Dixie also win

Written by E. George Goold
January 19, 2022

ST. GEORGE — Three Region 10 boys basketball teams won Wednesday night while region co-leader Snow Canyon had a bye.

Dixie was never threatened in a big road win, Pine View defended its home court and Crimson Cliffs continued its unbeaten region record with a clutch win on the road in Cedar City.

Following are recaps of Wednesday night’s games.

Dixie 67, Hurricane 39

The Flyers jumped ahead 8-0 and upped that lead to 20-7 after the first quarter and Hurricane was never able to rally after that.

Dixie’s smothering pressure defense allowed the Tigers few open looks and the Hurricane shooters struggled to knock down shots all night.

“We focused on our defense and on our rebounding,” Dixie coach Tyler Roberts told St. George News after the game. “Just tried to stay in position, five guys playing together, and our bench being a little more excited. Tried to focus on keeping everybody engaged in the play.”

Hurricane hosts Dixie in a Region 10 boys basketball game, Hurricane, Utah, Jan. 19, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

6-foot-10 junior Kean Webb was unguarded and hit two open 3-pointers for Dixie’s first buckets. He threw in three total treys in the contest and scored 15 points.

“He brings a lot of energy, a lot of effort, and I challenged him to score tonight,” Roberts said. “I’ve been using him as a passer and a reverser but I’m not going to do that. We’ve got two great bigs and we’ve got to go at both of them.”

Dixie’s other big man is 6-foot-8 sophomore Kyle Lemke, who quietly sank nine field goals against Hurricane and led all scorers with 18 points. Jordan Roberts contributed 11 points for the winners and Bronson Barben chipped in with 10.

Dixie doubled up the Tigers at 36-18 at halftime and in the second half was able to work in its bench players.

Weston Larsen led Hurricane in the game, making three 3-pointers and finishing with 12 points. Colton Lichfield scored eight and Kruz Gardner and Nifai Iloa scored six points apiece. Owen Iloa rounded out the Tigers’ attack with seven points.

For Dixie, getting back on the floor and having success was important as the Flyers moved on from last Friday night’s gut-wrenching overtime loss at Crimson Cliffs.

“It’s one of those things that happens. That’s why you play to the end. We definitely thought we had it,” Roberts said. “It’s a good game to keep us humble and to keep us focusing on the things that we need to do to get better.”

Dixie improved to 11-4 overall and 3-2 in Region 10 play. Meanwhile, Hurricane fell to 9-6, 2-3 after the defeat.

Pine View 52, Desert Hills 42

The Panthers and Thunder battled to an 8-8 tie after the first quarter, but the home team took a lead it never let go of into halftime, 23-18.

Pine View hosts Desert Hills in a Region 10 boys basketball game, St. George, Utah, Jan. 19, 2022 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

Griffen Shepherd led Pine View’s effort with 14 points while Nash Shroeder scored 13 for the winners. Scott Fulmer contributed nine points for Pine View.

The Panthers won a low scoring third quarter 10-8 and then secured the victory with a 19-16 performance in the final frame.

Desert Hills leading scorer Lincoln Holmes netted 16 points in the contest, including two 3-pointers. Eli Allred was next for the Thunder with 12 points and Boston Holbrook contributed eight points.

Pine View evened its overall record at 7-7 and upped its Region 10 record to 2-3. Desert Hills dropped to 4-11 and is still winless in region play at 0-6. 

Crimson Cliffs 61, Cedar 56

The Crimson Cliffs Mustangs won at Cedar for the first time in school history, withstanding a late rally by the Reds.

The game was a back-and-forth battle, with Crimson Cliffs leading 16-10 after one quarter but Cedar taking a 36-31 halftime lead. 

Crimson Cliffs at Cedar, Region 10 boys basketball, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 19, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The Mustangs then outscored the Reds 18-8 during the third period, turning a five-point deficit into a five-point lead.

The teams then played evenly throughout the fourth. With just under one minute to play, Cedar senior Zab Santana made a pair of free throws to pull the Reds within three points, 59-56.

However, during the final minute of play, Cedar’s remaining shot attempts all fell short, while the Mustangs were able to add a couple more points to ice the win.

“It was a great win for our program,” said Crimson Cliffs head coach Kasey Winters. “We had a great third quarter after a subpar second quarter. We did a lot better job in the second half rebounding and tightening up our defense.”

Houston Johnson led Crimson’s balanced scoring attack with 16 points, while Jordan Eaton added 13 and Hudson Hawes contributed 11.

Cedar was led by center Aaron Munson’s 26 points, with Santana adding 11 and guard Bradon Tebbs scoring nine.

Crimson Cliffs improved to 11-3 overall, 5-0 in Region 10 play. After playing at Desert Hills on Friday, the Mustangs will host Snow Canyon next Wednesday. Meanwhile, Cedar, which fell to 7-8 overall and 1-4 in region, hosts Snow Canyon on Friday.

— written by Jeff Richards

Region 10 boys basketball standings (as of Jan. 20)

  1. Snow Canyon, 5-0, 15-0.
  2. Crimson Cliffs, 5-0, 11-3.
  3. Dixie, 3-2, 11-4.
  4. Hurricane, 2-3, 9-6.
  5. Pine View, 2-3, 7-7.
  6. Cedar, 1-4, 7-8
  7. Desert Hills, 0-6, 7-11.

Friday’s games:

  • Snow Canyon at Cedar, 7 p.m.
  • Crimson Cliffs at Desert Hills, 7 p.m.
  • Pine View at Hurricane, 7 p.m.

Updated Jan. 20, 9:30 a.m. to include game coverage video.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric George Goold came to St. George News from southwestern Colorado, where he was a radio news reporter. He has been a journalist for over 20 years in five different states. He graduated with a master's degree in English from Kansas State University and writes nonfiction as well. Goold has been published in Sunstone Magazine and has done multiple public readings about local history. When he has free time, he enjoys chess, movies and dogs.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!