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WEST VALLEY CITY — Pine View and Dixie had already faced each other twice this season.
Each time, the game went down the wire, with the two teams splitting the meetings. This game was no different, with the teams trading leads back and forth in a tense final period.
However, Pine View earned its first state title since 2007, beating the Flyers 46-43 at the Maverik Center in West Valley.
Pine View coach Darrell Larsen said the game was just a good high school basketball game.
“You can’t say enough about what Dixie did (in that game),” he said. “We gave up a big lead, and our kids kept fighting. We just let them go make plays, and they did.”
Pine View was a dominant power in southern Utah in the early 2000s, but changing boundaries in Washington County saw the school lose some of its athletes to Desert Hills when that high school opened in 2008.
As the coach of the Panthers for the last seven years, Pine View coach Darrell Larsen said the process of rebuilding the program has been gratifying.
“A lot of administrations would have fired me, with my record,” he said. “I don’t know my record, but I know in those first few years it was more losses than wins. I know that if it wasn’t for our administration to believe in the picture we painted, we stuck with it and it’s just nice to see the end result.”
Pine View beat Dixie for its last state title, at the Burns Arena in St. George.
Pine View opened the game on an 8-0 run, punctuated by a Kody Wilstead dunk. Dixie got its first score at 4:15, a three by Ryan Wilgar. However, the Panthers responded with a 7-2 run to close out the quarter with a 15-5 lead.
Dixie started to get some defensive momentum towards the end of the first period, with a pair of blocked shots. Then the Flyers opened the quarter on a 3-0 run. However, Pine View, as it did all game, responded with a run of its own, including back-to-back threes, to take a 25-10 lead with 3:44 to go in the first half.
The Flyers would cut into the margin, finishing the half on a 9-4 run — punctuated by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Jake Hawes.
Both teams started the second half slow, and neither scored a field goal until Kody Wilstead got a lay up over three minutes into the quarter. Then the two teams traded shots. Garrett Bowker hit a three for Pine View, while Richard Guymon made a bucket and was fouled.
In the third quarter’s final minutes, Dixie’s Tyler Bennett took over. He got the game back to single digits, 35-26, with a running layup with less than two minutes left in the quarter. Then Bennett got an and-one to get Dixie within six, 35-29. Finally, a steal-and-dunk got the Flyers within four, 35-31. Bennett closed the quarter with a free-throw jumper, going on a personal 9-0 run to cut Pine View’s lead to 35-33.
After losing the lead, Larsen said he just instructed his players to do what got them there.
“(I told them) nothing; just said to go play,” he said. “Honestly, just said go play, we’ve been here before. (I said) go play, you know what to do.”
Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Bennett got fouled on a running jumper, which he made. He also made the free throw, giving Dixie its first lead of the game, 36-35, with six minutes left in the game.
Then it became a chess match. Wilstead responded with a dunk; Dixie’s RJ Wilgar responded with a three. Tied at 39-39 with 3:30 left, Wilstead hit three free throws over the next two possessions to give Pine View a 42-39 lead with 2:19 left.
With the Panthers leading 42-41 with 1:35 left, Wilstead missed two straight free throws. Then Hawes hit a jumper to give Dixie a 43-42 lead. Wilstead recovered, getting an and-one to give the Panthers a 45-43 lead. It appeared Guymon tied the game, but was called for traveling.
Dixie got into the foul game and fouled Wilstead with 12 seconds left in the game. Wilstead missed the front end of a one-and-one, and the Flyers recovered the ball after the scrum. However, with Bennett driving, Bowker recovered a deflected ball and was immediately fouled. He hit both free throws to ice the game, and the title, for Pine View.
Chaz Petersen led all scorers with 18 points, while Kody Wilstead scored 15 points. Dixie’s Tyler Bennett finished with 14 points for Dixie.
Pine View’s final record was 23-2, while Dixie finished the season at 20-6.
After an emotional scene in the Dixie locker room, Flyers coach Ryan Cuff said he was proud of the effort his team showed throughout the tournament.
“I’m just so proud of them for an incredible season,” he said. “We had some adversity along the way and really got on a good run. For the circumstances that took place last night, going into four overtimes, to respond — they fought hard to give us a chance. I’m just proud of them.”
JUAN DIEGO 67, MORGAN 47- — The Soaring Eagle completed an undefeated girls season, beating the Morgan Trojans 67-47 in the 3A championship game in West Valley City.
Juan Diego held a narrow 12-11 lead after one quarter, but a 40-17 run over the next two quarters put the game out of reach.
Monique Mills led the Soaring Eagle with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Dominique Mills also contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Morgan’s Savanna Brooks finished with 14 points.
The Soaring Eagle finished the season with a record of 25-0, while Morgan finished with a record of 18-9.
