By Steve Pimper
MaxPreps.com
The hotbed of Utah Class 5A boys basketball is Utah County and Region IV. That's because three of the top five ranked teams in the state all reside in that highly-competitive league. Spanish Fork is ranked No. 5 in that group but still tops the Region race with the only unblemished mark with three weeks left to play.
Spanish Fork continued its amazing run atop the Region standings by holding off second-ranked Pleasant Grove Friday night, 73-65.
Big man Jason Steenstra stuffed home 21 points while running mate Griff Robles added 14 as the Dons protected home court advantage in running their league mark to 5-0 and 11-4 overall on the season.
The loss was the second setback in 10 days for the Vikings (3-2, 13-3 overall), who now face an uphill battle for the league title and the Region's top seed in the State Tournament at Weber State University beginning Feb. 27.
The Spanish Fork win sets up the much-anticipated return engagement with Lone Peak (15-1) next Friday night on the Knights' home hardwood. The Dons handed the No. 1 ranked Knights their only loss of the season in a thrilling 71-70, double-overtime battle in early January.
Lone Peak tuned up for that showdown by posting two victories last week. A spanking of Mountain View 67-35 on Tuesday, then slipping by rival American Fork, 59-54, Friday.
Elsewhere around the state, Region II is knotted up like a Boy Scout Jamboree with Hillcrest, Jordan and Alta all sporting identical 5-2 league marks with Brighton only a game behind the pack.
The Huskies of Hillcrest looked to be the early favorite to cruise to the Region title after starting the season 12-1, but suddenly they've stumbled with three of their last four games going into overtime.
After outlasting Skyline in double overtime (62-56) and edging by Alta (56-51) in one extra session, the stress and fatigue showed as the visting Bengals of Brighton crushed the Huskies, 55-34, Friday in front of a shocked Hillcrest home crowd. Ali Langford led the Bengals' balanced scoring attack with 11 points.
Looking elsewhere around the state; in one of the most intense rivalries in Northern Utah the Ogden Tigers got 28 points from Reydon Egbert and held on to edge crosstown Ben Lomond, 49-48, in a Region XI affair. Chance Allen netted 21 points for the losing Scots.
Down South, Dixie got 20 points from Braden Brooks to give the Flyers a 52-46 victory at Snow Canyon. The win kept the Flyers tied for the Region IX lead with Pine View.
The Panthers played long ball with Jace Melessa drilling two treys and totaling 19 points while teammate Tyler McGinnis hit four from behind the arc and added 17 points as Pine View beat Cedar City, 58-46.
In girls action, the much-anticipated showdown in 4A between the top two teams, Box Elder and Mountain Crest materialized when Box Elder thumped fifth-ranked Woods Cross, 73-39, last Tuesday.
With Mountain Crest's one loss coming at the hands of Woods Cross and the Lady Mustangs only managing a one-point win (30-29) over Box Elder on their home court in the first contest, it looked like it might be a blowout for the Lady Bees in the rematch.
Box Elder controlled the entire first half with Mountain Crest staying within striking distance, but two minutes into the third quarter the Lady Mustangs grabbed a 32-31 lead and Box Elder went ice cold scoring only five more points in the last 10 minutes.
Mountain Crest galloped home a winner by posting an easy, 52-36 win and securing the Region V crown in the process. Ericka Mouritsen posted 18 points for coach Amanie Crosbie's victorious Lady Mustangs.
In 5A action the No. 1 Lady Darts of Davis got ambushed at Layton. The Lady Lancers got 23 points from Sheila Adams to hand Davis its first loss in Region I play as Layton won 61-57.
Skyline will now assume the top spot in the state rankings as the second-ranked Eagles posted two easy wins last week, disposing of Hillcrest, 67-40, and then topping Jordan, 56-41. Skyline now has a lofty 16-1 record on the year.
In 2A, the last undefeated team in the Beehive State fell. The visiting Lady Wolves of North Sevier handed Manti its first loss of the year as Chanda Hallows scored 17 points to key the 47-40 upset win. Sili Hafoka posted 21 points for the Lady Templars in the loss.
At the 1A level, the Layton Christian girls team ran its season record to 16-3 by thumping Mount Vernon, 55-17. The win marked the seventh time this season the Lady Eagles have held an opponent to 25 points or less in a game. In three of those games teams have failed to break the 20-point barrier against the dominant Layton Christian defense.