A wide-open 1A boys basketball tournament began Wednesday at Southern Utah University with eight games being played from morning until nearly midnight.
While it's nearly impossible to pick a winner from the well-balanced field, one game that could have made a good championship contest will be played Wednesday night.Rowland Hall-St. Marks, the Region 11 champion, which held a spot in the Deseret News prep rankings all season, takes on Bryce Valley at 7:30 p.m. at the Centrum.
Bryce Valley may not seem too much of a threat, coming in as the 5th place team from Region 12. But the Mustangs were ranked No. 1 in 1A earlier in the season and one of their top players, Derrick Clark, just returned to the lineup after being sidelined six weeks with an injury. Last year the Mustangs finished third in the state tourney.
Rowland Hall, ranked No. 4 in the final rankings, knocked off top-ranked Rich in the Region 11 finals Saturday night. The Winged Lions are led by Adrian Larson, Tom Kuhnel and Ryland Sumner.
In other games Wednesday evening, Region 12's No. 2 team Escalante meets Mt. Vernon at 4:30 p.m., Intermountain Christian plays Green River at 6 p.m. and Tabiona, the surprising second-place finisher in the Region 13 tourney plays Wendover in the finale at 9 p.m.
In earlier games Wednesday, it was Region 12 champ Valley against Dugway, Rich against Panguitch, Piute against Monticello and Region 13 champ Duchesne against Meridian. Piute finished as runnerup to North Summit last year.
Some of the top players to watch this week include Rich's Nate Pugmire, Duchesne's Brandon Rowley, Intermountain Christian's Jeremy Heiser, Mt. Vernon's Brandon Evans and Green River's John Hughes.
On Thursday, winners will play at 4:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Consolation games will start at 10 a.m. and continue until 2:30 p.m.
Semifinal games will be Friday at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with the state championship set for Saturday at 5 p.m.