Cedar High School and Green Canyon High School compete in the 6A girls quarterfinals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Cedar City 59, Green Canyon 54
In the quarterfinals of the 4A girls state basketball tournament Monday, a strong first half for Cedar City proved to be the difference in the game, as the Reds defeated Green Canyon 59-54.
It was a tale of two halves. The first half was dominated by Cedar City on both sides of the ball, as the Reds took what appeared to be a comfortable 37-14 lead into the halftime break.
“In the first half, we had a pretty good idea of what they were doing,” Cedar City head coach Cory Nielsen said. “We took away what they wanted to do. Offensively we were efficient and had some key players able to get to the rim. The basket looks a lot bigger when you’re up by 20.
“When you find yourselves in a tight game like we did in the second half, the basket looks so tiny and we experienced that tonight.”
Green Canyon came out in the second half determined to cut into the lead and make it a game. The Wolves were able to hold Cedar City to 22 points in the half while stepping things up on the offensive end and eventually were able to fight and claw their way back into the game.
“Green Canyon came up with a lot more energy, got some turnovers and we got in a little foul trouble,” Nielsen said. “They had the momentum to start the second half and once you have that momentum, it’s hard to stop.
“We had a real struggle to try to stop them in the second half. Down the stretch though we had some players make some clutch foul shots for us.”
While things got better for Green Canyon, even cutting Cedar City’s lead to as little as a single point, the halftime deficit proved to be too much.
“I think the problem we had, and it was kind of my fault, was that we played not to lose and we didn’t play to win the game,” Nielsen said. “We were afraid to go play in the second half.
“We have to trust our offense and we have to play the whole game. I don’t think we did that in the third and fourth (quarters). We were playing more tentatively and scared. That is what happens when you have a young team like we do.”
Ultimately, Cedar City was able to make a number of clutch free throws down the stretch, securing a spot in the semifinals.