ST. GEORGE — Dixie sent a message to the rest of the 4A basketball teams in Utah Friday night.

The Flyers clinched the regular-season Region 9 championship with a convincing 77-60 victory over second-place Snow Canyon.

Dixie, now 10-0 in region play, led 32-30 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.

In other games, Pine View handled Cedar 65-41, and Crimson Cliffs beat Hurricane 79-58.

Desert Hills had a bye.

Dixie 77, Snow Canyon 60

The Flyers soared to the Region 9 championship after breaking open a two-point game at halftime.

“We made a few adjustments,” Dixie coach Tyler Roberts told St. George News after the game. “Obviously Owen (Mackay) is just so unbelievable. He had a great game again tonight. We did a better job in the second half.”

The early portion of the contest featured a one-on-one battle between Dixie’s Kyle Lemke and Snow Canyon’s Mackay.

The duo traded buckets back and forth during an early stretch that ended with the Flyers holding a slim 32-30 lead at the end of the first half.

“Kyle was a beast. He was an absolute beast,” Roberts said after Dixie’s senior big man scored 26 points to lead the Flyers. “We can’t do anything without Kyle. It runs through Kyle, and credit him again.”

Snow Canyon opened the fourth quarter with Owen Mackay’s bucket followed by a free throw from Reggie Mackay, cutting the Warriors’ deficit to 55-44. 

The visitors then went on a 13-3 run that put the game away. Logan Wideauer scored for Dixie, followed by a Lemke layup.

Robinson’s 3-pointer was a dagger, then Lemke rebounded and scored a put-back.

Snow Canyon’s Damon Ence sank a trey to momentarily stop the run, but Robinson’s drive and finger roll were followed by Wideauer’s two in transition and Dixie was in command 68-47.

Three other Flyers scored double-digits to back up Lemke. Robinson finished with four 3-pointers and 18 points. Wideauer netted 15 and Jordan Roberts added 11 for the winners.

Coach Roberts said playing in electric atmospheres like the one in the Jungle is good for the Flyers as it prepares them for the 4A state tournament.

“Really right now, we got to stay focused on us,” he said. “Enjoy every practice, every moment, because it’s going to go by fast. We just got to clean up a few things and continue to work on the little things right now.”

As for the Warriors, Mackay led the way with a game-high 29 points. He sank five 3-pointers, grabbed four rebounds and stole two balls.

Trey Kelch was next for Snow Canyon with eight points and Drey Smith and Reggie Mackay contributed seven points apiece in the setback.

Crimson Cliffs 79, Hurricane 58

Crimson Cliffs center Sean Felts scored 30 points to lead the Mustangs to a 79-58 home victory over the Hurricane Tigers, who still seek their first region win.

Crimson took an early double-digit lead as Drake Carroll banked in a shot to make it 19-8 with about 30 seconds left in the first quarter. Hurricane’s Quinn Gubler answered with a quick layup, after which Felts tipped in his own missed shot at the buzzer, giving the Mustangs a 21-10 lead after one quarter.

The Mustangs stayed in command the rest of the way, leading 41-25 at halftime and 60-41 after three quarters. Also scoring in double figures for Crimson were Noah Marsden with 14 points and Luke Johnson with 12.

Meanwhile, Hurricane was led by center Cayleb Jackman’s 19 points, with RJ Hurst adding 15 and Thailand Gubler contributing nine points.

Pine View 65, Cedar 41

At Pine View, Caleb Schmitt scored 16 points and Griffen Shepherd added 14 as the Panthers coasted to victory over the Cedar Reds.

The Panthers jumped out to a solid start, taking a 23-7 lead after one quarter. Cedar doubled its offensive production in the second stanza but still trailed 35-21 at halftime.

Pine View sizzled from behind the arc, hitting 11 treys during the game compared with Cedar’s two 3-pointers.

Also scoring in double figures for the Panthers was Nash Schroeder, who finished with 11 points.

The Panthers posted a 46-29 lead after three quarters and never looked back, leading by as many as 22 points on multiple occasions in the fourth quarter.

Cedar’s leading scorer was Easton Albrecht with nine points, while fellow guard Hayden Kee came off the bench to score eight.

Check back on the St. George News website, social media platforms and The Fan Sports Network for full coverage of Friday night’s action.

Region 9 boys basketball standings (overall, region):

1. Dixie (19-3, 10-0)
2. Snow Canyon (13-7, 7-3)
3. Desert Hills (13-8, 6-4)
4. Crimson Cliffs (11-10, 6-5)
5. Pine View (13-8, 5-5)
6. Cedar (4-18, 2-9)
7. Hurricane (5-16, 0-10)

Region 9 schedule for Wednesday, Feb. 14:

• Dixie at Desert Hills, 7 p.m.
• Crimson Cliffs at Pine View, 7 p.m.
• Snow Canyon at Hurricane, 7 p.m.

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