The Pine View Panthers are taking a road trip to square off against the Snow Canyon Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Pine View is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.2 points per game this season.
Last Wednesday, Pine View didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Desert Hills, but they still walked away with a 56-52 win.
Caleb Schmitt and Cooper Ranson were among the main playmakers for Pine View as the former posted 16 points in addition to six assists and five boards and the latter went 6 of 10 on his way to 18 points. Ranson is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. Stratton Williams also deserves some recognition as he posted his first blocks of the season.
They weren't the only one working in the assists department: Pine View was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Desert Hills only racked up six assists.
Meanwhile, Snow Canyon was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They fell 49-41 to Crimson Cliffs. While losing is never fun, the Warriors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Utah basketball rankings (they are ranked 86th, while the Mustangs are ranked 29th).
Pine View will have to contain Reggie Mackay as he made an impact in Snow Canyon's last game. He scored 17 points and five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Issaiah Thompson, who put up ten points.
Pine View has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season. As for Snow Canyon, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-15.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pine View has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Snow Canyon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Pine View was able to grind out a solid victory over Snow Canyon when the teams last played back in December of 2024, winning 56-49. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Mackay, who posted 17 points and five boards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Pine View still be able to contain Mackay? There's only one way to find out.
