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Riverton • Kearns had itself a little bit of a problem entering Friday's game against Dixie.

If the Cougars tried to contain the Flyers with a zone defense, Kearns might take itself out of its normal face-paced offense. And that's exactly how the beginning of the semifinal of the Riverton tournament played out.

Eventually, after a low-scoring first half, the tactic was abandoned. And the things Kearns was avoiding — the inside scoring of 6-foot-8 Dixie senior Richard Guymon and penetration from the Flyers' guards — came back to haunt the Cougars in Dixie's 55-54 win.

It was the Flyers' 21st straight victory, stretched over two seasons, and sends Dixie to the championship of the Riverton tourney Saturday at 3:15 p.m. The Flyers will play Riverton, which beat Wasatch 69-62 in the other semifinal.

"They knew what we were about and that zone slowed us down a little bit," said Flyers' guard Kaden Elzy, who finished with 12 points. "But we play a zone all the time, so we were prepared."

In a 51-51 tie, Guymon broke loose for a basket inside for a two-point lead with 46 seconds left.

After a missed 3-pointer by Kearns' David Andrew, who had made four previously, a pair of free throws by T.Y. Curtis put Dixie up 55-51 with 11 seconds left.

Kearns (6-4) chopped the margin to one on a 3-pointer by Mikey Hernandez with six seconds left, but after a missed free throw by Dixie (12-0), Majok Kuath's full-court shot went wide of the standard.

Guymon ended up with 12 points while Curtis added nine. Tanner Cuff, son of coach Ryan Cuff, came off the bench for important contributions as well — including a 3-pointer with 1:41 run to give Dixie a 51-50 advantage.

"I was just pleased with our guys' composure. It was a great team win," Ryan Cuff said. "We just hope we can get a good night's sleep and be ready to go."

At half, Dixie held an 18-15 lead. It was with three minutes left in the third that Kearns changed from a zone to man-to-man defense. Initially, the tempo change seemed to favor the Cougars — who ran off 10 straight points in the fourth quarter.

In that stretch, Kuath, a 6-5 sophomore, scored four points while Hernandez and Andrew both swished threes. Kuath led Kearns with 16 points and nine rebounds and Andrew added 13 points.

But the Cougars' offense stalled in the last five minutes as Dixie came back.

"We got selfish. I think they were going for the jugular and got a little excited," Kearns coach Dan Cosby said. "They wanted to win it right then, instead of having a little patience and getting a good shot.

"We're up six or seven and that's why we have certain drills, to keep your composure in that kind of setting," Cosby added. —

Dixie 55, Kearns 54

R A basket by Richard Guymon and a pair of free throws by T.Y. Curtis in the last minute gave Dixie a 55-51 lead.

• Guymon and Kaden Elzy scored 12 points each for the victorious Flyers while Majok Kuath tallied 16 for Kearns.