Pinnacle edges Monument Valley at home on Saturday

    The Pinnacle Panthers defeated the Monument Valley Cougars 47-46 on Saturday afternoon in Price.
    The win gives the Panthers their second consecutive Region 19 win and a 2-2 record in regional play.
    “It feels amazing, my team did a really good job,” Panthers Head Coach Eric Hansen said.
    Both teams went back and forth throughout much of the game until the fourth quarter when the Panthers grabbed onto and held a steady lead.
    The Panthers led 43-39 with 4:30 to play after a Kaidyn Daughters layup was made underneath the basket.
    Monument Valley stormed back and tied the game 43-43 a minute later, setting up an intense final three minutes of the game.
    After a Dalton Cook steal and easy layup, the Panthers had a 45-43 lead with just over two minutes to play.
    The Cougars came back after the Cook score and made a deep three to take a one-point lead.
    Pinnacle couldn’t get a score on the next possession and fouled the Cougars on their next shot attempt. Monument Valley couldn’t convert at the free throw line and missed two free throws with 1:40 left.
    A big moment in the game happened with a minute left when Monument had the ball and got called for an offensive foul.
    With 44 seconds, left the Panthers were down one and set up a play to try and get the last shot to win the game.
    With 13 seconds left senior Isaiah Wilstead found Daughters open who then drove to the rim and made the go-ahead basket with 10 seconds left.
    “We ran a play, it didn’t work and got the rebound we brought back out and ran the same play with two different guys and then it worked,” said Hansen.
    After the game, Daughters said he felt good to get the win and have the ball in his hands in the final moments.
    “It was pretty good that my team trusted me to get the ball in order to make that shot,” Daughters said.
     The Cougars had one last chance to win the game but the Panthers’ defense stepped up and defended the Cougars last shot attempt as time expired.
    Daughters finished the game with a team-high 14 points, while Wilstead finished the game with 13 points.
    “Both Kaidyn and Isaiah led our team tonight. In the first half they were cold, but in the second half, when we needed them the most, that’s when they came out at it with 110% both defensively and offensively,” Hansen said.
    The Panthers will now have a week to prepare for powerhouse Monticello who comes to Price next Friday.
    The defending Region 19 champion, Monticello is 3-6 overall this season and 1-0 in region play.
    Hansen said after the game he will work on helping his players have the right mindset before the game and break the habit of thinking that Monticello is an automatic loss.
    “They are a big school, they have big guys and they breed their kids to play basketball. They got kids taller than I am and we really need to get it out of my kids’ heads that they are going to lose a game,” Hansen said.
    Monticello and Pinnacle will square off Friday at 5:30 p.m. inside the Pinnacle Gymnasium.