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St. George • There is nothing glamorous about rebounding. It's a matter of hard work, boxing out and concentration.
Defending 3A champion Pine View though used those attributes Friday night when the Panthers captured a 54-49 victory at Snow Canyon.
The visitors, earning a difficult road win in tough Region 9, struggled at times to score. But they dominated Snow Canyon on the boards and ultimately, that was the difference as Pine View improved to 1-1 in league play and dropped the Warriors to 1-1.
Panther coach Darrell Larsen said he put a particular emphasis on rebounding after his team lost Wednesday to Dixie. He had praise for Cody Reusch, more for the way that he battled on the boards than his game-high 18 points.
"It was a Region 9 game with great defense and a hard fought game," he said. "I am sad to see them lose, but I am glad we won. Four of our first five games are on the road and we've got to get a couple. We split the week, and that was the goal."
With a packed house in the Warrior Jungle screaming throughout an intense, physical game, the teams struggled to score in the first half, when Pine View led 7-6 at the quarter and 15-12 at halftime.
But the offenses heated up in the second half. With Reusch doing much of the scoring, Pine View outscored Snow Canyon 10-3 in a key stretch early in the fourth quarter and seemed to have things under control with a 13-point lead.
But Reusch fouled out with 4:03 to go and that gave Snow Canyon some hope. The Warriors started causing havoc with their press and got some big baskets from Justin Loveless, who finished the game with 13 points.
Suddenly, what had been a 43-30 Pine View lead dwindled to a 43-37 edge. The Warriors, who struggled from the line all night, cut the lead to 53-49 with about 10 seconds to go, but could not complete the comeback.
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Storylines
R Cody Ruesch scores 18 points and helps Pine View dominate the boards and even its Region 9 record at 1-1.
• Justin Loveless scores 13 points to lead Snow Canyon.