Box score

Bountiful overcame a dreadful second quarter on Wednesday night to seize control of the Region 5 race.

After enduring a stretch in which it was outscored by 15 points in the second quarter, the Redhawks regrouped in the second half to inch past rival Viewmont for the 58-56 victory.

The win gives Bountiful a two-game cushion atop the Region 5 standings over Viewmont and Woods Cross with five games remaining before the state tournament.

“We didn’t play the prettiest game, but we needed that kind of game because that’s what’s gonna happen in the state tournament. Ugly wins are sometimes needed,” said Bountiful coach Gus Sopena.

Bryson Heath led the way for Bountiful with 24 points, with Emerson Geilman chipping in with 13 points and six rebounds. Viewmont’s Drezdon Jensen led his team in the loss with 20 points.

Bentley Moore only scored three points for the Redhawks, but his 3-pointer in the final seconds of the second quarter was one of the biggest buckets of the game.

After dominating the first quarter and grabbing a 16-9 lead, the Redhawks couldn’t get anything going offensively in the second quarter as Viewmont went on a 20-5 run to build a 29-21 lead. Moore’s corner 3-pointer stopped the bleeding and gave Bountiful a sliver of momentum heading into the locker room.

“Bentley is just a stud, he comes in and plays with so much energy and enthusiasm,” Sopena said, adding that Bentley has been challenged and empowered to shoot the ball when open. “He made the right play at the right time, just like he always does. He’s always a team guy, always executes what we’re asking, so that play was huge for us.”

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Bountiful built on the momentum that bucket created outscoring Viewmont 18-7 in the first six minutes of the third. Heath, Charlie Smith and Davey Howe each drained 3-pointers during the stretch.

Heath’s two free throws at the 1:46 mark stretched Bountiful’s lead to 44-36. The Redhawks had a couple possessions to possible push the lead to double digits, but it couldn’t capitalize.

Viewmont responded with a 5-0 to end the quarter as Lloyd Williamson banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer cutting the lead to 44-41.

The game stayed tight throughout the fourth quarter, but Emerson Geilman gave Bountiful some breathing room with 2:50 remaining on a 3-pointer pushing the lead to 56-50.

“He hit two big 3s in the second half that were really huge, and it’s just good to see him shoot with confidence,” said Sopena.

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Over the next two minutes Bountiful went scoreless, as Viewmont cut the lead to 56-53 with 36 seconds remaining. The Redhawks attacked the basket on its ensuing possessions to regain the two-possession lead on a layup from Charlie Smith.

Viewmont’s Jakob Jeppesen drained a 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 58-56, but its offense didn’t touch the ball again as Bountiful inbounded the ball the length of the floor to seal the win.

Sopena thought one of the biggest keys to the game was the way his team defended Jensen. After leading the Vikings with 12 points in the first half, the Redhawks were determined to make things more difficult in the second half as he finished with only eight points.

“I think we great adjustments, switched up our defense a little bit, we decided to play a little tighter on Drez. He is so good offensively, he’s such a great talent, he’s very shifty and we decided to go a little more physical with him,” said Sopena.

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