"I thought it was a really physical game and we made enough plays down the stretch," SV head coach Kirk Hillyard said. "We got some key rebounds. Logan (Deal) got a big one, Carter (Davis) got a big one, Hayden (Howell) got a steal. There were a bunch of different guys that came in and did some (crucial) things right there at the end. And Cole (Hillyard) came in and did a good job, knocked down a couple shots for us that helped us a little bit. ... I'm proud of the kids because (the Grizzlies) were on a run, they had all the momentum there, cut it to a four-point game, then we were able to get a couple of stops and execute on the offensive end."

The Grizzlies (9-6, 1-1) trailed by 20 points three minutes into the second quarter and by 17 in the final seconds of the third quarter, but Will Parkinson scored at the buzzer and the momentum carried over into the final eight minutes of action. Four different Grizzlies contributed in the scoring column during the first four-plus minutes of the fourth quarter as Carson Tuft pared his team's deficit to 54-50 with an acrobatic basket with 3:48 remaining in the contest.

To their credit, the Bobcats (12-2, 2-0) were undaunted as they held the Grizzlies to a pair of points the rest of the way. A trio of steals, plus a blocked shot by Deal, loomed large for the visitors down the stretch. Additionally, Sky View knocked down all six of its free throws after Logan pulled to within four points.

"Yeah, it sucks when we're up by 20 and they go and cut it back down to four or whatever they got it to, but it's a great test for us coming up in these bigger games because every night region's going to be like that and we need to learn how to win on the road in a hostile environment," SV big man Brooks Rigby said. "I feel like tonight was a great example of that and we did a great job of handling the pressure and just kind of taking over the game at the end."

Rigby certainly did his part as he scored four straight points following Tuft's basket to giving the visitors some breathing room. No. 45 finished some strong moves in the post on his way to 12 points. Tanner Davis paced the Bobcats with 15 points, immediately followed by Deal with 14.

"It felt great," Rigby said. "It feels great knowing my teammates trust me enough to get me the ball when I'm open and they trust me enough to make plays. It's a team sport and, at the end of the day, I'm just grateful for that trust they have in me to go make those plays."

Rigby and the Bobcats threatened to run away with this game before it got to halftime. Sky View went on spurts of 9-0, 10-0 and 7-0 on its way to a 33-13 advantage three minutes into the second quarter. The Bobcats were moving the ball very well — one nice pass resulted in a Kendrick Terrell dunk in traffic — and Davis was wreaking havoc with his length on defense. The junior had back-to-back steals for easy baskets in the first quarter — the second of which he threw down for a transition dunk.

And yet, the Grizzlies were able to withstand that early barrage and played much better on both ends of the court as the game progressed.

"We settled down and kind of ran the looks that we were trying to get to and, to me, that was the difference," LHS head coach Mitchell Arygle said. "Obviously, Sky View is No. 1 in (4A). They're a good team at the end of the day. In the second half, we executed and got the ball where we wanted to. And in the first half, we did not execute an offense and we've got to have that. We're a little undersized every time we go out and play. That's just part of who we are right now, but if we execute, we get the shots that we want and we're in good shape."

The Grizzlies got a strong performance from active post player Jordan Child, who scored at least nine points in each half on his way to a game-high 21 points.

"Oh, he did a great job," Argyle said of Child. "He puts a lot of effort into rebounding and getting extra shots for us, and then every time (our opponent chooses) to put maybe a guy that's not quite as big as him, we try to go and give him the basketball. And he did a good job. His teammates did a good job of getting him the ball, but the effort he put in was awesome."

Justin Anderson netted 10 of his 14 points after halftime for the hosts, but the Bobcats ultimately did a good job of defending one of the region's better scorers.

"Credit to them," Hillyard said. "They brought it. Mitch does a great job and they gave us all we wanted and on the road it's hard, and you've got to win games in region on the road to win (a) region (title) and keep things rolling, so I'm happy with our effort, I'm happy with what the kids did tonight. I'm proud of them. That's a good win for us."

OTHER REGION GAMES

Mountain Crest traveled to North Logan and outlasted Green Canyon in double overtime by a 78-73 scoreline, while Ridgeline held off Bear River at home, 55-50.

The Wolves (3-10, 0-2) came storming back from a 15-point hole during the final two minutes of regulation. The Mustangs (7-7, 1-1) could have folded, but they regrouped instead.

"It's a shame someone has to lose that game," MC head coach Chandler Smith said. "I've never seen a high school basketball game as exciting as that one down the stretch. Give credit to Green Canyon. They didn't fold and did everything to come back and win that game. Really happy for our kids and their desire to pull it out. A lot of kids stepped up at crucial moments and made the right plays when they needed too. But give credit to Green Canyon. They deserve that win just as much as we do. Great high school basketball game."

Oliver Nethercott drained five 3-pointers and poured in 25 points for Mountain Crest, which got 12 points from Rigdon Anderson and eight from Trevis Leiser. The Mustangs went 22 of 32 from the free throw line.

Isaac Filimoehala speared the comeback charge for the Wolves as he finished with all but six of his career-high 30 points after halftime. Jared Anderson and Mitch Larson chipped in with nine points apiece for Green Canyon, which went 18 of 25 from the charity stripe.

Meanwhile, the Riverhawks (11-2, 2-0) raced out to a 15-7 lead after eight minutes of action against the Bears (9-6, 0-2) and withstood a fourth-quarter charge from the visitors. Bear River outscored Ridgeline 18-13 during the final eight minutes of action.

Carson Cox and Luke Sorenson contributed with 14 points each for the Riverhawks, who got nine points from Jagger Francom. Kyver Jensen finished with a contest-high 20 points for the Bears, who got 13 points from Bridger Barfuss.

"We did enough to win at home against a tough Bear River team," Ridgeline head coach Kyle Day said. "I really liked our energy in the first quarter, but I would like to see us do a better job continuing that throughout the game. Looking forward to hosting Sky View on Thursday."