By Steve Pimper
MaxPreps.com
The basketball preseason games and holiday tournaments are over for the teams in Utah as Friday marked the first night of statewide region action. While some teams have already played several league contests, all 19 regions are now in full swing...and with some surprising and amazing results.
Starting with the amazing, or maybe more accurate, the miraculous.
In Provo, the Timpview Thunderbirds held a 45-44 lead over visiting Orem with less than a second on the clock and shooting a free throw to secure a Region 7 opening night win.
The Thunderbirds missed the free throw intentionally knowing there was no way the Tigers could score in less than a second...but Mike Hall grabbed the missed charity toss and heaved it 85 feet downcourt in desperation. The impossible heave became instant reality as the ball found the bottom of the net on a perfect arc.
The stunned Timpview team watched the Tigers celebrate a 47-45 win on the once in a lifetime shot. Hall ended up the night as not only the hero, but also the leading scorer with 18 points.
Meanwhile, 10 miles down the road the undefeated No. 1-ranked 5A Lone Peak Knights also got a dose of half-court misery as Spanish Fork's Zack Clayton drilled a 3-pointer to give the home team Dons a 71-70, double-overtime win in a Region 4 opener. Clayton finished the night with 16 points while teammate Griff Robles knocked down 17. Tyler Haws had 16 for the now once-beaten Knights.
In Taylorsville there was another mild surprise as the Warriors built a 16-point lead through three quarters and then withstood a 30-point fourth quarter rally from the favored Alta Hawks to post a 68-63 Region 2 victory.
While the Hawks got clipped in Region 2 action the Hillcrest Huskies ran their overall season record to 11-1 by dumping Brighton 56-47 on the Bengals home hardwood.
The loss by Lone Peak leaves only one unbeaten team in the Beehive state. The Jackrabbits of 3A Delta cruised by Carbon 52-31 to improve to 14-0 on the year. Jordan Johnson netted 15-points while Spencer Stoddard added 12 for the still perfect Delta squad.
Turning to the girl's high school scene again their was more of the same last second dramatics starting with Riverton's 38-36 win over Bingham in a Thursday night affair.
The second-ranked Miners fell to the Silverwolves thanks to a last second shot by Riverton sophomore Chelsea Sorenson. The Region 3 debut for both teams now finds the Lady Silverwolves on top of the standings while Bingham falls to 11-2 on the season.
The 4A girls also had their share of thrillers with the top two teams, Mountain Crest and Box Elder, facing off in the Region 5 featured game last Tuesday.
Mountain Crest entered the game ranked at No. 1 with an 11-0 mark paced by Amanda Jensen and Jaicee Kuresa, both averaging over 14 points per game. The Lady Bees of Box Elder were No. 2 in the polls at 12-0 with Mandy Munns scoring 14.8 points per game and Celeste Wouden chipping in 13.8.
The showdown turned out to be a defensive, rather than offensive, battle with the Lady Mustangs holding on for a 30-29 home court win as Kuresa scored 10 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the winning Mountain Crest team.
Also in another early season matchup of Region 7 powers the Lady Bulldogs of Provo high got 12 points from Cammie Nelson to edge Payson, 41-40, on the Bulldogs home court.
Not all of the top girl's teams around the state struggled however as the top rated Lady Eagles of Skyline destroyed Jordan, 54-33, as Skyline's Dani Peterson stuffed home 26 points in the easy Region 2 win.