BY STEPHEN VINCENT • FOR THE SPECTRUM & DAILY NEWS • JANUARY 21, 2010
| ST. GEORGE - When Hurricane basketball coach Gordon Dotson dropped off his son, Gordie, in Provo to start his church mission Wednesday, the younger Dotson expressed one regret. He wished he could see Wednesday night's Hurricane-Desert Hills game.
Sorry, Gordie, but you missed a classic.
Hurricane escaped an eardrum-popping loud Thunderdome with a 45-42 victory against their newest rival.
"We knew this game was going to be crazy," said the Tigers' Zach Sorenson. "People have been talking about this game since region started."
After Deserts Hill ruined Hurricane's bid at undefeated season in football, Hurricane has now returned the favor in basketball.
The two teams are now tied atop Region 9 at 4-1.
A noticeable and growing animosity between the schools' student bodies was on display during the contest.
"It's definitely becoming a rivalry," Sorenson said. "It was starting up last year, but especially with them beating us in football when we were favored. It's starting to become one of the better rivalries in the region."
Hurricane led 42-39 in the final minute when Tanner Atkin knotted the game with a 3-pointer.
On the other end, Anderson Rich rebounded his own miss and drew a foul driving to the hoop. He hit one of two to give the Tigers the lead for good with 36.3 seconds left.
Thinking that Desert Hills would set a double pick for a shooter against the Tigers' man defense, Dotson switched to a zone.
He guessed right.
The befuddled Thunder offense became gridlocked on the left side.
Atkin finally freed the ball and penetrated to the middle, but the Tigers' Tyler Hinton stripped the ball, which Sorenson recovered.
"As a coach, you live and die with those kinds of decisions," said Dotson, adding his team's defense was the key. "It was a gamble. I look good on this one, but if they would have hit a three (it would have been different.)"
Sorenson then nailed two free throws with 4.2 seconds left.
"I've never been in a gym so loud in all my life," Sorenson said. "My ears are still ringing. I put in a little more of an emphasis on free throws this week, and that helped me out."
Sorenson scored six points in the final four minutes.
"Zach loves big games," Dotson said. "The Desert Hills crowd was all over him, trying to get in his head, but he's been through that for three years. He loves it when opposing crowds ride him. His composure at the end is what carried us."
Jon Bodnar starred for Desert Hills.
Bodnar thrived in place of Bo Buchanan, who tore his meniscus in practice Tuesday.
Bodnar outscored the Tigers, 10-9, in the second quarter, hit buzzer-beating baskets at the end of the first and third quarters, and kept the Thunder alive with his fourth-quarter rebounding.
"I told my guys that they played great" said Thunder coach Steve Melessa. "That was a great high school basketball game. Who could ask more from them than that? You'd like to win, but Zach Sorenson made some big shots for them."
|
|
Activities 
