PROVO -- For a team that was listed No. 2 in the first Deseret News overall Top 20 basketball rankings, the Mountain View Bruins sure are looking underrated.
The opposite could be said of the two-time defending 4A champion Provo Bulldogs, who were nationally ranked last year and have been tabbed as the top team in their class again this season.In shocking fashion, Mountain View pounded Provo 78-42 Wednesday night at Provo High.
The Bulldogs actually led 12-11 in the first quarter, but then they were ambushed by an incredible Bruin burst. Mountain View steamrolled to a 44-2 run, which included holding Provo to a scoreless second quarter.
"To go in on their floor and to show enough heart to work together like that tells me a lot about our team," said Mountain View coach Rob Cuff, who returned four starters off of last year's 5A championship squad.
Returning first-team all-stater Tim Henry led the Bruins in scoring with 26 points. Jeff Gardner added 18 points with three 3-pointers.
Mountain View improved to 2-0 with its second big blowout of the young season, while Provo dropped to 0-2 after a second straight loss to a 5A team.
Meanwhile, Brighton -- Utah's top-ranked team -- escaped with a 58-56 win over Viewmont, thanks to Jesse Pinegar's game-winning shot at the buzzer.
Pinegar, a junior who recently committed to play for BYU, finished with 12 points.
Junior standout Garner Meads led the Bengals in scoring with 20points, while fellow classmates Luke Hendrix and Lawrence Cowan added 11 and 10 points in Brighton's season opener.
James Thompson nailed five treys en route to a 17-point outing for Viewmont.
In other nonregion games:
COTTONWOOD 58, COPPER HILLS 53: Junior center Derek Dawes dominated the paint in scoring a game-high 28 points for the 2-0 Colts, who are ranked fourth in the state. All-State guard Josh Neeley added 16 points for Cottonwood, while Shawn Badger led Copper Hills with 18. The Grizzlies also got 11 apiece by Scott Johnson, Jason Darger and Trent Kemp.
ALTA 55, CLEARFIELD 47: The Hawks jumped out to a 15-5 lead to soar past the Falcons. Garn Smith netted a game-high 21 points to lead Alta to the upset. Cliff Scholer scored 13 for Clearfield.
TIMPANOGOS 74, AMERICAN FORK 57: The Timberwolves had five players score nine or more points in clubbing the Cavemen. Mike Shepherd scored 18, and Jeff Tuttle chipped in with 14 to lead the way.
BOUNTIFUL 71, BONNEVILLE 58: Brett Wallace scored 15 in 16 minutes, Drew Eastman added 14 points, and Brandon Burt had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
MURRAY 66, LONE PEAK 61: Jared Sanford and sophomore Matt Thomas each scored 16 points as the Spartans improved to 2-0. Amos Burgess topped the Knights with a 20-point effort.
NORTHRIDGE 66, TOOELE 34: The Knights nearly doubled the Buffs by holding them to single-digit scoring in three quarters. Ryan Petersen and Greg Ralphs led Northridge with a combined 31 points.
SKY VIEW 69, BEAR RIVER 62: T.J. Davis scored 19, Ben Randall 17 and Trevor Stokes 15 to boost the Bobcats over the Bears. Utah-bound guard Chris Huber drilled four 3s and scored 25 for Bear River.
BOX ELDER 58, LAYTON 53: Derek Tyler and Tyler Shaw sparked the Bees to the win with 18 and 15 points. Box Elder's defense keyed the win by holding Layton to 14 points total in the middle quarters.
HIGHLAND 42, ROY 39: Jason Owen scored all 12 of his points on 3-pointers to lead the Rams past the Royals.
MOUNTAIN CREST 71, PAYSON 67: Corey Monson had 16 points and Travis Baldwin 14 as the Mustangs got by the Lions on the road. Payson's Matt Lebaron topped all scorers with 26 points and five treys.
GRANITE 83, WOODS CROSS 49: The Farmers exploded to the win thanks to the hot hand of SUU-signee Kenyon Rodgers. He fired in six 3-pointers and finished with 39 points, including 25 in the second half.
DELTA 48, CEDAR CITY 37: Jake Nielson and Joel Lovell combined for 33 points as the Rabbits ripped the Redmen.
SOUTH SUMMIT 83, ALTAMONT 70: Jason Haymore had eight offensive rebounds and 12 boards overall for the Wildcats. Chris Larsen (19 points) and Joey Goates (18) led the offensive charge.
KANAB 75, VALLEY 60: Ike Spencer made six 3-point shots and scored 25 points, but his Buffaloes weren't able to keep up with the Cowboys. Chad Sturgill led Kanab with 18 points, including four treys, and Jerron Glazier added 17 points.
NORTH SEVIER 54, ENTERPRISE 52: North Sevier held on at the end to beat the other Wolves. Brett Wanlass scored 24, and Ameen Shaheen had 16 to lead North Sevier, while Enterprise got 16 from John Nelson and 15 from Brett Jones.
UNION 75, MORGAN 68 (OT): Rick Rasmussen tallied 23 points and 12 rebounds to boost the Cougars past the Trojans in overtime. Chaz Frandsen and Dirk Olsen chipped in 15 and 13 points, respectively.
RICH 59, NORTH SUMMIT 51: Sparked by Sim Hutchinson's 19 points and Zane Groll's 17, the Rebels opened the season with a victory over the Braves. Rich broke the game open with a 20-2 third quarter.
PAROWAN 54, MILFORD 45: Jake Truman scored 14 points, and Taylor Smith pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Rams to their first victory. Milford's Craig Barnes had a game-high 21 points.
DUGWAY 89, MERIDIAN 38: Aaron Hoody blew up for 42 points to lead the Mustangs to the blowout win. Dugway took a 51-13 lead at the half.
GIRLS ACTION
OLYMPUS 75, BINGHAM 49: After falling behind 14-12, the Titans poured it on the Miners. Lindsey Hille and Bekah Steenblik each scored 17 points to lead Oly's offensive charge, while Annie Anderson cleaned the glass for 14 rebounds.
AMERICAN FORK 53, SKY VIEW 52: Annie Pontios hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 20 points for the Cavemen. Mickey Folsom scored 14 to lead the Bobcats.
JUAB 49, DELTA 35: Marcie Jackson scored 21 points to lead the Wasps to the win in their opener.
CANYON VIEW 51, RICHFIELD 50: April Cox hit a game-winning shot with seven seconds left to lift the Falcons to the road win. She ended with 11 points, while Melissa Lloyd scored 13 for Richfield.
BEAVER 77, VALLEY 21: Shannon Bradshaw scored 19 points and Julie Williams added 17 to boost the Beavers.
EAST CARBON 60, WASATCH ACADEMY 45: Melissa Hamilton netted five 3-pointers and 23 points and Becky Pierce scored 20 in the win.