CEDAR CITY — The Sky View Bobcats are not known for their defense, or at least that wasn’t the case this year.
Sky View gave up an average of 64.3 points per game this season, 22nd out of 27 teams, en route to a fourth place finish in Region 12.
The Bobcats offense, meanwhile, was one of the finest in the 4A classification. Sky View averaged 69.5 points per game this year and as such, the team entered the state tournament with the fifth-best scoring offense.
And yet, it was defense that carried the day when the Bobcats upset the top-seeded Juan Diego Soaring Eagle in the first round and it was defense that propelled them to another state tournament victory, another upset at that, Thursday morning at the America First Event Center on the campus of Southern Utah University.
Sky View defeated Dixie 58-48 Thursday, in the opening game of the quarterfinal round.
Sam Phipps led the way with 17 points, while University of Utah commit Mason Falslev added 15.
“Sam and Mason do a really good job,” Sky View head coach Kirk Hillyard said. “It is just about doing the little things, making those little plays and I thought they did that today.”
Dixie was led senior Hayden Cottle, who finished with 19 points.
It was the Bobcats defense that decided the game, however.
Sky View held Dixie to just 22 first half points, including an eight point first quarter. Even with a 19-point third period, the Bobcats managed to hold the Flyers eight points below their season average.
“Defensively, we held them to 22 points in the first (half). In the third quarter they hit some shots, but defensively we were on point,” Hillyard said. “I thought we were where we needed to be.”
At no time was that more readily apparent than in the final minutes of the contest.
After leading for much of the game, on the back of said defense, not to mention a stellar first half by Falslev and Phipps — the duo combined for 14 of Sky View’s 18 first quarter points — the Bobcats found themselves trailing midway through the fourth quarter.
With the game on the line, Sky View came up with a series of consecutive stops, which included a steal and a block by Phipps.
The defensive stand not only enabled the Bobcats to retake the lead, but ultimately proved the difference in the game.
“We work on that all year. We call it a kill,” Hillyard said. “You have to get three stops in a row to get a kill. We kind of nabbed that from BYU. We talk about it every day in practice. When we can get a couple of kills we are usually in pretty good shape.”
It also helps to have a player of Falslev’s caliber, and, despite having an off game by his standards, the junior came through down the stretch, not with his scoring, but with his playmaking ability.
While facing significant Dixie pressure, Falslev found multiple teammates, including Phipps, Jace Wright and Malik Horman for late baskets.
“That’s Mason. That is him,” Hillyard said. “He is as fun player to watch and he can handle the ball well. He left a few short today, he usually finishes better around the rim than that, but he’ll be okay.”
The Bobcats will continue play in the state tournament Friday night at 7:30 p.m. when they face the winner of the quarterfinal contest played between Payson and Green Canyon.