With a pair of wins, the Bountiful boys basketball team is now in first place in Region 5. 

More importantly, the Redhawks are ranked sixth in Class 5A RPI ratings. The race for a higher seed will heat up as the season winds down toward the state tournament. 

Bountiful continued its torrid offensive play last week with a 91-72 win at home over Viewmont. For the Redhawks, the 91 points were the second-most all season, second to a 98-point effort in the season opener. In the 19-point victory over the Vikings, Bountiful had 47 points in the first half alone and shot a blistering 35 of 58 from the floor during the game. Two players broke the 20-point mark in scoring. Bryson Heath led the way with 22 points, while Carson Smith added 21 points along with his five rebounds and six assists. Faletau Satuala had 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Arturo Garcia continued 10 points. 

Two nights later, at Northridge, the Redhawks prevailed over the Knights in a thrilling 83-80 overtime game. It was Bountiful’s third 80-point game in a row. 

Bountiful got off to a hot start, building what looked like a comfortable 26-7 lead after one quarter. From there, Northridge caught up, eventually tying the game in the fourth quarter and forcing overtime. Bountiful outscored the Knights 14-11 in the extra session to clinch the key win, improving its record to 14-5 overall and a league-leading 8-2 in Region 5. Satuala had 21 points to lead the Redhawks, followed by Smith, who had 20. Sawyer Crane had 16 points, including four three-pointers. Heath chipped in 15 points. 

Bountiful hosted Bonneville on Wednesday and entertain Clearfield on Friday. 

Viewmont

The Vikings are 6-4 in Region 5 and 7-12 overall. Their loss to Bountiful last week ended a five-game winning streak. 

In the defeat to Bountiful, three Viewmont players reached double figures in points. Drez Jensen had a team-leading 18 points, followed by Max Draper, who had 15. Max Larsen added 10 points in the team’s first loss since Jan. 10.

But the Vikings bounced back. 

Viewmont began a new winning streak Feb. 2 with a 63-47 victory over Box Elder. The triumph was payback for the Vikings’ 73-60 loss to the Bees earlier in the season. 

Preston Weaver paced the Vikings with 15 points, getting nine of those off his three shots from behind the three-point arc. Jensen had 14 points and three three-pointers of his own. As a team, Viewmont connected on 11 three-pointers to just five for Box Elder. Larsen was held in check offensively, getting three points, but he did have a team-high seven rebounds. Draper had six assists. 

Next up for Viewmont is a game at Northridge on Friday. The team played at Woods Cross on Wednesday, after our press deadline. 

Woods Cross

The Wildcats were 1-1 last week and now stand at 3-7 in region play and 4-15 overall. 

Woods Cross defeated Box Elder 65-58 on Jan. 31. Playing on the road, the Wildcats overcame a rough start where they fell into an 18-8 hole in the first quarter. The rest of the game belonged to Woods Cross, however, especially after going on a 23-12 run in the second quarter and following that with a 17-11 advantage in the third. 

Hunter Jackson had a huge game, compiling 22 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. He added five assists for good measure, producing a strong all-around effort. Eli Michaelis had 17 points and six rebounds, while Bryson Watson contributed 16 points and seven rebounds. He also had four three-pointers. 

On Feb. 2, Woods Cross struggled offensively at Clearfield in a low-scoring 43-40 loss. The Wildcats made just 16 shots and lost despite Clearfield not attempting a single free throw. Jackson led the Wildcats with 16 points. Ben Smith-Mecham had 12. 

Woods Cross hosted Viewmont on Wednesday and then travel to Roy on Friday.