Lehi Sports
Falcon boys go 2-1 in home Classic
The Skyridge High School boys basketball team lost a close opening game in the Falcon Classic but then posted a pair of convincing victories to finish out the weekend.
Dec. 12: Crimson Cliffs 56, Skyridge 52
This first game of the home-school tournament was a close affair from start to finish and wasn’t decided until the closing minutes. The Falcons had a 14-13 edge after the first quarter but fell behind 25-26 by the break.
They enjoyed a slim two-point advantage heading into the final period, but the Mustangs outscored them 16-10 in the quarter to pull out the narrow win.
Senior forward Jordan Kohler sparked his team with 19 points including three triples plus five rebounds and three assists. Senior point guard Joel Gardner added 13 points including three treys.
Junior forward Carson Mosteller added eight points and junior guard Hunter Sheffield scored seven with four boards. Junior forward Ryder Gentry collected nine rebounds and made three assists, while junior guard Zach Gagon had three steals and a block.
Dec. 13: Skyridge 54, Mountain View 42
The Falcons took command of this contest from the opening whistle, burning the nets for 19 points while holding the Bruins to just seven points. Skyridge enjoyed a 30-23 advantage at the half and stayed in front for the remainder of the game.
Kohler tallied 18 points to go with five boards, four steals and one block while Gardner contributed 16 points with three gives. Sheffield had eight points and three rebounds.
Gentry had a great all-around outing with five points, eight boards, four assists, three steals and a block. Mosteller added five points, six rebounds and three assists and Gagon passed out four assists.
Dec. 14: Skyridge 51, Dixie 35
The Flyers managed to hang with the Falcons for a half, trailing by just one point after the first period and five at the break. However, the Falcons returned from the locker room with an energized effort, outscoring Dixie 16-7 in the third quarter and continuing on to the convincing victory from there.
Mosteller stepped into the spotlight for this contest, sinking five triples among his 16 points and grabbing four boards.
Kohler added 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a block while Gentry had eight points, five boards and three steals.Sheffield scored six points and Gardner had five with four assists.
“The Falcon Classic was a great weekend of basketball,” said Coach Jeff Gardner. “We ended up learning a lot about ourselves and finished the weekend with two solid wins against Mountain View and Dixie.
“Jordan Kohler was named to the All-Tournament team and had a great weekend fighting through illness and Joel Gardner also put together a couple of really nice games. Carson Mosteller stepped up huge against Dixie, hitting five threes, which was a big lift for us,” he went on.
“We are continuing to be encouraged with our team’s growth, and we look forward to continuing to battle through the back half of our preseason,” Coach Gardner said.
“Our strengths have continued to be rebounding and defense. We are one of two 6A teams holding opponents under 50 points per game. Zach Gagon, Hunter Sheffield, Josh Hansen and Ryder Gentry have been huge for us on defense. Kohler, Gentry and Mosteller have led the team in rebounding,” the coach concluded.
The Falcons were in California last weekend playing in the Damien Classic. They won their first three matchups and were scheduled to play in the Bronze Division championship on Monday night. Results were not available at press time, but details on all of those tournament games will be posted in a future issue.
Skyridge visits Fremont on Friday (Jan. 3) and Layton on Tuesday (Jan. 7) before heading to Westlake for the Region 3 opener next Friday (Jan. 10) for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
