After a brief pause to enjoy some turkey and mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving, local boys basketball teams return to the court this week. 

The young season got off to identical starts for Bountiful, Viewmont and Woods Cross, with all three squads getting off to 1-1 records. 

Bountiful

The Redhawks came close but couldn’t move to 2-0 on Nov. 26 against Fremont. Instead, Bountiful fell on the road to the Silverwolves 74-70 to drop to 1-1 on the season. 

The first quarter went well for Bountiful, as it led 24-13 thanks to a strong offensive effort. That lead evaporated, however, in the second quarter, though the Redhawks were still up 42-38 at the break. Fremont outscored Bountiful 36-28 in the second half. 

For Bountiful, 11 three-pointers weren’t enough, as Fremont made 29 field goals in all to the Redhawks’ 24. Lincoln Smith paced Bountiful with 21 points, while Charlie Smith had 18 points, including four three-pointers. Bryson Heath added 16 points on the night. 

Up next for the Redhawks is a game at Class 4A opponent Crimson Cliffs on Thursday. The Redhawks are back home on Friday against Riverton and then cap a busy week with a home contest against Dixie on Saturday. 

Viewmont

Just two games in, and the Viewmont Vikings have seen both ends of the spectrum. 

After a blowout loss in game one, the Vikings were on the positive side of a lopsided game this past week, crushing Farmington at home, 73-41, on Nov. 26. 

The first half was all Viewmont. 

The Vikings erased any doubt that their second game would be like the first when they fell to Layton by 34 points. Against Farmington, Viewmont was up 42-13 at halftime after dominant play on both ends of the court. The Vikings cruised the rest of the way for their largest margin of victory since beating Roy 80-38 in February 2018. 

Drez Jensen had 21 points and seven rebounds, leading the Vikings in both categories. Cache Tuia had 15 points, and Lloyd Williamson contributed 15 points and three rebounds. 

On Tuesday, after our press deadline, Viewmont traveled to Mountain Ridge to play the Sentinels. On Friday, Viewmont faces Weber on the road. 

Woods Cross

The 1-1 Wildcats had a tough time offensively in their last outing, a 61-40 loss at home to Murray on Nov. 26. 

Wood Cross had 21 points in the first half and 19 points in the second half in the loss. The Wildcats fell behind early and never recovered. The defeat spoiled a strong effort from Bryson Watson, who had a team-high 15 points. He also added six rebounds and a pair of assists. Elliot Bendinger scored 11 points and contributed a team-best nine rebounds. Luka Robinson didn’t score, but the junior had four rebounds and blocked three shots. 

The Wildcats looked to get back into the win column on Tuesday at East. Following that game, Woods Cross has a Goliath task on Thursday when they host defending Class 5A state champion Olympus. Things didn’t go well for the Wildcats the last time they played the Titans in December 2022. In that meeting, Olympus prevailed 63-38. λ