After a dominant regular season, the stakes get higher for the Bountiful boys basketball team. 

Bountiful won 13 of its 14 region games, winning the Region 5 title by three games. Overall, Bountiful enters the state tournament with a record of 19-4. For its efforts, Bountiful earned the No. 3 seed. Its high seed secured Bountiful a first-round bye. The Redhawks open the playoffs in the second round this Friday against the winner of two familiar foes: Woods Cross and Northridge, which played Wednesday, after our press deadline. 

Bountiful was 2-0 during the regular season against Northridge, winning 77-60 on Jan. 8 and 77-61 on Jan. 31. However, Bountiful suffered its only region loss of the season against Woods Cross on Jan. 22, falling 59-55 to the Wildcats. In the rematch, Bountiful prevailed 62-54 in the final game of the regular season on Feb. 14. In that outing, Bountiful found itself down by two points after three quarters, but a 19-9 fourth quarter sealed the win for the Redhawks. Bountiful won despite shooting just 11 of 20 from the foul line. Bryson Heath scored 18 points, while Charlie Smith had 16 points and five rebounds. Lincoln Smith chipped in 10 points and four rebounds. 

If Bountiful survives its second-round game this Friday, it would advance to the quarterfinals on Feb. 25 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. There, the Redhawks could face fourth-seeded Highland, which tied Olympus for the Region 6 title. 

Viewmont

The Vikings took on 22nd-seeded Bonneville in the first round of the 5A tournament on Wednesday, after our press deadline. Viewmont, seeded 11th, got to play at home with the chance to advance to face sixth-seeded Alta on Friday. 

Viewmont also played Bonneville twice during the regular season, winning 58-46 at home on Jan. 17 and defeating the Lakers the second time around, 61-45 on the road on Feb. 12. 

Heading into the playoffs, Viewmont is 14-10 overall. The Vikings were second in Region 5 with a 10-4 record. They were on a four-game winning streak entering the final regular-season game on Feb. 14. However, the Vikings stumbled at home against Clearfield in that outing, despite 20 points and eight rebounds from Drez Jensen. 

Woods Cross

At 8-6 in league play, the Wildcats finished third in Region 5. Woods Cross is seeded 12th in the 5A tournament and faced 21st-seeded Northridge in the first round on Wednesday, after our press deadline. Woods Cross lost both regular-season meetings against Northridge, falling on Jan. 17 by the count of 61-59 and then losing on Feb. 12, 68-65 at home. 

In the final regular season game on Feb. 14, Woods Cross had region champion Bountiful on the ropes but gave up the lead in the fourth quarter. In a losing effort, Hunter Jackson led the Wildcats with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Elliot Bendinger had 14 points and seven rebounds of his own. 

The Redhawks just might face Bountiful yet again. A first-round victory for Woods Cross would put the team against Bountiful two days later in the second round.