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Show ports Guardian of Your Community New$ A14 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010 Skyhawks defeat Lions in nailbiter to take Region Marshall Dunn STAJFFWRTTER Wednesday night was senior night for the Salem Hills men's basketball team as they took on the Payson Lions in yet another chapter of this heated rivalry. In front of an energetic, sellout crowd, the Skyhawks were able to clinch their second region championship, this time in Region 8, after their 45-43 win over the Lions. "It's the best feeling of my life, to win region. I can't explain the feeling — it was awesome," said senior Tyler Hardy. In a night that was supposed to focus on the seniors, it was two juniors who stole the spotlight for Salem. London Simonson and Jake Skinner scored 19 and 18 points, respectively, scoring all but eight of Salem's 45 points. The seniors, however, have left a sturdy foundation for the underclassmen to build on, as noted by Hardy. "It's huge, winning back-to-back region championships. It's really setting up a good situation for the teams to come," he said. The game started out slow, despite playing in front ;.of a. boisterous crowd, with Salem leading 6-4 midway through the first'quarter. The players increased the tempo as each team got comfortable with their offense and Salem was able to extend its lead to 15-11 at the end of the first. Shane Marshall / The Sentinel UP AND OVER: Spanish Fork's PJ Inoke goes airborne on his way to the hoop. Dons at State Chad Vest STAFF WRITER The Mighty Dons played host to the Tooele Buffalos Saturday night in a firstround state playoff game that featured solid interior defense with little offensive production on either side. A much-improved team from up north showed wreaked havoc on the Dons' athletic style of play. Just when it appeared that Williamsen, Still and company had found a lane to drive to the hoop, three purple defenders would corral them with nowhere to go. With good defense on both ends, the difference proved to be foul shooting along with Tooele's stout interior defense that forced Spanish to beat them with outside jump-shots. Unfortunately, SF went 3-for-20 from behind the arc and two of them came in the final three minutes of regulation. Tooele took its first lead in the third frame and never looked back as they sealed the deal at the charity stripe to eliminate SF, 44-35. Adam Duke put Spanish on the board with a threepointer followed by a deuce from Chase Loftin for a 5-0 lead. The red and gray went up 9-5 which forced a Buffalo timeout. However, the visitors regrouped and knotted it up at nine all to end the first. SF played some solid defense in the paint to begin the second, which forced its opponent to shoot the long ball. Fortunately, Spanish began to gel with some easy buckets for a 5-0 run (18-10) that forced another Tooele time- out. Once again the Buffaloes regrouped and stormed back with a 7-0 run to end the half at 18-17. Despite two big rejections by Max Johnson and Travis Still, a persistent Tooele squad took its first lead midway thru the third and continued its dominant play in the paint. The Dons struggled to hold onto the ball and get their offense in sync. After a pass sailed out of bounds, a frustrated Coach Cook called timeout with a minute left in the third. The Buffaloes led 28-25 when a hustling PJ Inoke grabbed a steal and raced crosscourt with a defender draped over him. However, Inoke was called for a technical due to his reaction after the defender was whistled for a foul, nearly taking down the speedy Spaniard. Tooele went on to increase its lead to eight before sophomore Hayden Nielsen nailed a big trey from downtown to keep it interesting at 34-29. Spanish then used a tenacious full-court press to cause two back-court violations, which kept the crowd into it. But a hard-driving Travis Still went up for a shot with two guys draped over him and couldn't get a call. On the next possession, the junior fouled out and in his frustration earned SF another technical with a minute to go, down 35-30. From there, Tooele seemed to make every charity it put up. "It was a tough loss for us," said Coach Cook. "I'm going to miss these seniors. They worked real hard and they've been a fun group to coach." See CHAMPS • A12 Adam Korb / The Sentinel ALL STAR: Salem's Jake Skinner challenges a Payson player for a rebound. Skinner | had 18 points for the Skyhawks. Below, the team celebrates their region championshipj The Complete Image to Finished Print Source Photo Guru Studios 36 East 300 North Spanish Fork, Utah 84660 Eric Melander / Digital Artist email: photogurustudios@gmail.com Photoguru The Photography of Eric Mclnndcr KJSTUDIOS IMAGE PRINTING SERVICES 801-318-7536 F I ART SALE COUPON BrinqCi'Upon mi" f'lmto Guru Studio* Colors in the Wind Fine Art Print I I Limited Edition Prints lO"h x 20"w. $ 2 0 Print (frame noi included) | $45 Print and Frame | UmiicdQiianilies Large Format Photo Prints Food Photography Canvas Giclee Art Prints Portrait / Family Photography Photo Retouching Posters/ Indoor Banners Old Photo Restoration Photos Mounted on Foam Board Art Scanning and Reproductions Matte / Gloss / Art Papers Digital Paintings on Canvas Graphics /Advertising | The Photo Guru is always in: www.photogunistiidios.com Phoiogyry IN / COLORS IN THE WIND (FRAMED ART PRINT 10" x 20* |