It may have come with a little bit of anxiety, but the Judge Memorial boys' basketball team was able to lock up the Region 11 crown --its fifth straight region title -- on its senior night Friday, staving off upset-minded Bear River 59-44.

Judge was down early, with turnovers and poor shooting plaguing the Bulldogs, who trailed 24-22 at halftime as a result.

With the Bears hustling to sneak into fifth place with a win, all Bulldogs coach Jim Yerkovich could do was praise the opposition and hope his team could mount a comeback.

"We were in a lull to start off the game. We had a senior ceremony before the game, and we just weren't as focused as we could've been," said Yerkovich. "They really played with hard intensity and they really hurt us on the boards. They had seven second-chance opportunities and we only had one, so you have to credit Bear River."

The Bulldogs' defense shut down Bear River's attack and completely changed the scope of the game in the second half.

Bear River got solid production with 13 points from game-leading scorer Cade Capener, but the Bears shot an atrocious 4-for-19 from the field and turned the ball over nine times. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-10 post player, Will Whitt, added to the trouble with six blocked shots.

Meanwhile, Judge spread out the ball immaculately on offense, with three Bulldogs, Daniel Shiramizu, Zach Myaer, and Basil Vetas, all scoring in double digits.

The win puts at Judge 48-2 in region play over the past five years, but Yerkovich still sees this year's region title as special.

"It's an important win because we weren't playing that well, and we were able to gut it out and found a way to win, so I think a win like this is great around tournament time because good teams find a way to win," he said. "To win this region with only one returning player, and with the teams that we have [in the region], it was a good accomplishment for the team."