Region 10 boys basketball: top 2 teams lose in road upsets to Cedar, Desert Hills

Written by E. George Goold
January 21, 2022
Snow Canyon at Cedar, Region 10 boys basketball, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 21, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

ST. GEORGE — Friday night’s Region 10 boys basketball action saw two big upsets, as Snow Canyon and Crimson Cliffs were each handed their first region loss of the season.

The Cedar Reds spoiled the Warriors’ undefeated season with a 15-point home win, while Desert Hills upended Crimson Cliffs in what was the Thunder’s first region win. In other action, Hurricane won at home over Pine View.

Following are recaps of each of Friday night’s games:

Cedar 62, Snow Canyon 47

At Cedar, the Reds jumped out to a 10-0 lead and maintained a double-digit lead for much of the rest of the game in an upset of the previously undefeated Snow Canyon Warriors.

Cedar guard Zab Santana scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the first quarter, including eight points during the Reds’ 10-0 run to start the game. 

Snow Canyon at Cedar, Region 10 boys basketball, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 21, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The Reds ended the first quarter with a 25-14 lead, both teams slowed down considerably in the second quarter, with each team scoring just six more points as Cedar took a 31-20 halftime advantage.

Midway through the third quarter, Snow Canyon briefly narrowed the deficit to seven points, but sophomore Landon Kreitzer hit a big 3-pointer from the corner to push the Reds’ lead back to 10. Cedar ended up finishing the quarter on an 11-4 run to take a 48-32 lead after three.

Snow Canyon had its best-scoring quarter during the fourth, racking up 15 points, but it wasn’t enough to catch the Reds, who worked the clock to their advantage and made a few key baskets and free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

“It was great to get out to a 10-0 run,” said Cedar coach Mark Esplin. “We took advantage of a couple mismatches. Zab Santana is hard to guard outside. I thought Aaron Munson bought his time, and when it was his turn to score, he went and got them.”

Santana and Munson combined for 42 of Cedar’s 62 points.

“It’s a game we needed,” Esplin added. “We’ve lost some close games to some top teams. We got to go out and have fun tonight. It’s great to see the kids have a good time. I told them to enjoy tonight, but starting tomorrow we’ve got to get ready for Hurricane on Wednesday.”

Lyman Simmons led the Warriors with 19 points, while Bowen Hammer added 15.

Snow Canyon, which fell to 15-1 overall with the loss, 5-1 in region play, remains tied for the Region 10 lead with Crimson Cliffs; the Mustangs are also 5-1 after losing at Desert Hills on Friday night.

Snow Canyon and Crimson Cliffs will face each other for the first of two meetings this season, next Wednesday at Crimson Cliffs.

— written by Jeff Richards

Hurricane 56, Pine View 50

It wasn’t pretty but it was a win for the Tigers at home.

In a foul-filled affair, Hurricane recovered from a 14-11 deficit after the first quarter to take a 27-25 lead at halftime and a 37-29 advantage after three quarters of play.

Hurricane hosts Pine View in a Region 10 basketball game, Hurricane, Utah, Jan. 21, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Then it came down to making foul shots.

“Well, they’re 16- and 17-year-old kids, so I would say they’re nervous,” Hurricane coach Todd Langston told St. George News after the game. “We got a couple of guards who can throw them in, but the other guys were a little nervous.”

The contest was largely determined from the charity stripe as Hurricane shot 21-for-36 from the free-throw line, while Pine View sank 12-of-16 attempts.

“They’re a really good team. They’ve won a couple of games, they’ve been playing better,” Langston said. “We knew it was going to be a fight.”

“We haven’t played very well,” he added. “So it was nice to come out tonight and execute better and like I said, we had to make free throws. We made it interesting by missing so many free throws in the fourth quarter.”

After Kruz Gardner threw down a dunk and then two free throws on the next possession for Hurricane, the Tigers led 50-38 midway through the final frame.

But then Griffen Shepherd, Turner Williams and Kameron Larsen all sank 3-pointers as the Panthers would not go away quietly.

On its next three possessions, Hurricane made just 2-of-6 free throws. Shepherd sank another trey and shockingly Pine View was within 54-50 with more than 30 seconds remaining.

Hurricane senior Weston Larsen sank two free throws, part of a 5-for-6 showing from the line in his fourth quarter, and Pine View came up short on it’s last possession as the Tigers won in the end.

Larsen also sank a key bucket and a 3-pointer in the final frame as part of his 15-point night, leading the Tigers in the win. Roger Lichfield was next for the winners with 12 points and Gardner contributed 11 points to the victory.

Shepherd was heroic in defeat for Pine View, scoring a game-high 26 points, including 9-of-10 from the free throw line.

No other Panther scored in double-digits as Nash Shroeder scored six and Scott Fullmer contributed five points in the loss. 

Desert Hills 53, Crimson Cliffs 48 (OT)

The Thunder outscored the Mustangs 8-3 in the extra session to claim their first Region 10 victory of the season.

Crimson Cliffs at Desert Hills, Region 10 boys basketball, St. George, Utah, Jan. 21, 2022 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

Free throws told the tale in this contest as well, as four of the Thunder’s eight points in overtime came from the line. Desert Hills shot 11-for-16 from the stripe in the win.

Meanwhile, Crimson Cliffs was 15-for-23 shooting free throws in the contest, its first loss in region play this season.

Desert Hills led 12-6 after a low-scoring first quarter and was ahead 22-21 at halftime.

The back-and-forth battle continued in the second half as the Mustangs took a 32-31 after three quarters and the teams were tied 45-45 at the end of regulation.

Eli Allred had the hot hand for the Thunder, scoring 18 points including two 3-pointers and a 4-for-4 performance shooting free throws.

Lincoln Holmes contributed 11 points for the win and Boston Holbrook threw in 10 for Desert Hills.

Playing in their second overtime contest so far in region play, the Mustangs were led by Hudson Hawes and his 11 points. Jordan Eaton was next with 10 points and Jaden Jensen chipped in with nine points for Crimson Cliffs.

Region 10 boys basketball standings (as of Jan. 22)

  1. Snow Canyon, 5-1, 15-1.
  2. Crimson Cliffs, 5-1, 11-4.
  3. Dixie, 3-2, 11-4.
  4. Hurricane, 3-3, 10-6.
  5. Pine View, 2-4, 7-8.
  6. Cedar, 2-4, 7-8
  7. Desert Hills, 1-6, 8-11.

Next Wednesday’s games

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

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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

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