Region 10 boys basketball: Snow Canyon, Cedar post comfortable wins; Dixie survives in double OT

Written by E. George Goold
January 26, 2022

ST. GEORGE — The boys basketball team from Snow Canyon High School rebounded from its only loss this season with a big road win at Crimson Cliffs on Wednesday night.

Elsewhere around Region 10, Cedar posted a convincing win at home and Dixie managed to survive a battle with Pine View that needed two overtime periods to decide.

Following are recaps of Wednesday night’s action:

Snow Canyon 55, Crimson Cliffs 45

In a game where neither offense could get into much of a rhythm, the Warriors took a 10-point lead at halftime that they never let go.

Owen Mackay drove and scored a bucket at the buzzer to end the first quarter, putting the visitors ahead 10-9.

The Warriors took control in a physical second frame, outscoring the Mustangs 17-8 for a 27-17 advantage at intermission.

Snow Canyon coach Doug Meacham told St. George News that the win was especially important coming on the heels of last Friday night’s loss in Cedar City.

“For me, that’s where you find out about your guys’ character, when we get beat,” Meacham said. “The two days of practice we had Monday and Tuesday were two of our best. So that told me a lot about us.”

Snow Canyon got balanced scoring from three players in the game as Mackay and Lyman Simmons each scored 16 points and Bowen Hammer chipped in 11 for the winners.

The Warriors stars shined in the third frame as Mackay threw down a dunk, Hammer sank a 3-pointer and Simmons set up Kaleb Anderson-Foreman for an easy bucket that put Snow Canyon ahead 36-22.

Defense was key for Snow Canyon as well, as the Warriors held Crimson Cliffs senior and constant scoring threat Hudson Hawes to just two points in the game.

“I think just being in his bubble slowed him down. I think we were there on his catch. And he is a guy that can get hot in a hurry,” Meacham said. “We were just aware of where he was at, and I thought that was a good defensive focus for us.”

Jackson Mckone was active on both sides of the floor for Crimson Cliffs, leading the Mustangs with 18 points. Travis Matthews chipped in with 15 points for the Mustangs in defeat.

Cedar 79, Hurricane 44

Cedar got off to a hot start, then overcame a sluggish second quarter to finish with a strong second half and coast to a 35-point win over Hurricane.

Hurricane at Cedar, Region 10 boys basketball, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 26, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

In the first meeting of the season between the region rivals, Cedar jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the first quarter, with Zab Santana scoring 10 points and Aaron Munson adding seven.

Hurricane, which had made a basket on its first possession, didn’t make another field goal until there were just three seconds remaining in the first period, when Kruz Gardner made an inside shot, got fouled, and drained the plus-one to make it 17-6 after one quarter.

Gardner went on to score six more points in the second quarter as the Tigers rallied to outscore the Reds 17-12 that frame, pulling within six at halftime, 29-22.

Early in the third, Hurricane had caught within three points, 29-26, but Cedar went on to outscore the Tigers 28-5 over the remainder of the period.

By halfway point of the fourth quarter, the benches had been emptied and reserve players were getting some floor time.

Munson led all scorers with 24 points, while Santana added 21 for the Reds, including the first eight points of the game.

“Zab played with a lot of emotion early,” said Cedar head coach Mark Esplin. “He got drained and tried to do maybe too much. In the second half, we settled down and started passing the ball, and that got us off to a good start. It just kind of snowballed and everybody started hitting shots.”

“You know, the bigger the lead, the easier it is to shoot,” Esplin added. “It’s a lot easier to shoot a 3-point shot in a 20-point game than it is in a tie game.”

Also scoring in double figures for the Reds were guards Stockton Albrecht and Nate Rogers, who made 11 points apiece. Eleven different players made it into the scoring column for Cedar.

Meanwhile, Gardner finished with 13 points to lead the Tigers in scoring. Owen Iloa and Weston Larsen each added seven points for Hurricane.

Both teams are on the road for their next game, as Hurricane visits Snow Canyon on Friday night, while Cedar is at Pine View.

— written by Jeff Richards

Dixie 60, Pine View 52 (2OT)
At Dixie, the Flyers needed two overtimes to finally put away a tight game against Pine View.
Pine View at Dixie, Region 10 boys basketball, St. George, Utah, Jan. 26, 2022 | Photo by Jacqui Knighton, St. George News

The score was tied 40-40 at the end of regulation and 47-47 after the first four-minute overtime, but Dixie pulled away in the second OT to win by eight, 60-52.

Kyle Lemke scored 29 points to lead the Flyers, while Grant Carter added 16 for Dixie.

The Panthers were led by Nash Schroeder’s 15 points, with Rushton Shaw adding 10. The Shepherd brothers, Griffen and Bensen, made nine and eight points, respectively.

Region 10 boys basketball standings (as of Jan. 27)
  1. Snow Canyon, 6-1 (16-1).
  2. Crimson Cliffs, 5-2 (11-5).
  3. Dixie, 4-2 (12-4).
  4. Hurricane, 3-4 (10-7).
  5. Cedar, 3-4 (8-8).
  6. Pine View, 2-5 (7-9).
  7. Desert Hills, 1-6 (8-11).
Friday’s games
  • Cedar at Pine View, 7 p.m.
  • Desert Hills at Dixie, 7 p.m.
  • Hurricane at Snow Canyon, 7 p.m.

Updated Jan. 27, 9:20 a.m. to include game coverage video.

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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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