Friday night boys hoops observations
Copper Hills has got to be kicking itself for letting a double-digit lead at No. 1 Bingham slip away so easily on Friday. In fairness to the Grizzlies a 12-point lead in high school is hardly insurmountable, especially in the third quarter, but they’ve could’ve done a better job of making Bingham feel the pressure of a rare deficit.
It took Bingham just two minutes to shave nine points off the lead at it only trailed 41-38 entering the fourth quarter. Copper Hills probably should’ve taken more time off the clock with the double-digit lead instead of rushing so many shots.
The loss revealed a lot about Copper Hills. It definitely has the potential to compete with 5A’s best, but it needs to be smarter in key situations if it wants to win those games.
Here are some other observations from Friday’s night’s slate of boys basketball games:
Davis-Viewmont is one of the state’s best basketball rivalries, and Friday’s game lived up to the hype with Davis prevailing in overtime. The win all but assures Davis of a top 2 finish in Region 1 while the Vikings’ resolve will be tested after the near miss.
West continues to play with fire. The Panthers trailed Granger by one entering the fourth quarter but they rallied for the victory to extend their winning streak to 13.
Separation was probably inevitable in Region 4, and it seems to have occurred on Friday night. Brighton, Jordan and Alta all won their games to improve to 6-2, 6-2 and 5-2 respectively. In a conversation I had with Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewis a few weeks ago, he said it would probably take 10 wins to win Region 4. It will be interesting to see which team pulls away, if any.
The Region 6 race is getting tight on two fronts. A week after beating Olympus, Bountiful fell to rival Woods Cross 51-50. That result creates a first-place tie atop the region between Olympus and Bountiful and creates an interesting race for third between Woods Cross and Highland who are each now 4-4.
No region produces exciting finishes quite like Region 9, but Friday night might’ve been the best yet. Snow Canyon hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime against Desert Hills, only to lose. Canyon View topped that drama by picking up its first region victory with a win over region front-runner Hurricane.
The race for the Region 11 title is clearly between Juan Diego and Judge, but Ben Lomond made sure the race for third is going to be plenty interesting by beating Morgan. Both teams are now 4-4 with two games remaining in region.
It turned out to be a rough week for Juab. The Wasps were 5-1 when the week started, and hoping to move into a tie with Emery for first. Instead, they lost to Emery on Wednesday and then were upset by North Sanpete 59-55 on Friday.
The Region 14 is getting interesting. Waterford improved to 6-1 in league with a 61-52 victory over Maeser Prep. South Summit and Layton Christian are closely behind at 6-2 following their respective wins.
St. Joseph, West Ridge and ICS are all 5-1 following their victories in Region 17.
One of the most surprising results Friday night was Whitehorse’s 58-56 win over Monticello. It was a huge swing in the Region 19 standings. Instead of Monticello sitting comfortably at the top with a 3-0 record, Whitehorse is now in first with a 4-1 record.
What happened at your game on Friday night?