CLEARFIELD -- A year ago, this would have been a key Region 1 clash.
But Viewmont has been banished to Region 2 where it will play a bunch of Salt Lake schools and Clearfield has stepped away from the state 5-A ranks and now plays in 4-A Region 6.
Still, the former league rivals staged a spirited battle where the Vikings struggled early and then cruised to a comfortable 59-43 victory over the home-town Falcons on Friday evening.
Clearfield held a 9-5 lead early in the first quarter before Viewmont coach Jeff Emery called a timeout to impart a few choice words to his squad.
"They (Clearfield) got two or three loose balls while we stood around and watched," Emery said. "We need to get 80 percent of the 50/50 balls and we weren't getting any and had zero rebounds. We need to get some of those chances, because it's hard to get easy baskets when all you're doing is taking the ball out of the net."
After the dressing down,the Vikings went on a 14-0 tear and got a cushion they maintained the rest of the way.
"We came into tonight with a focus on the defensive end; we had a pretty good talk about being consistent on the defense," Emery said. "We did that, got stops and held them to 37.5 percent shooting from the field and that led to a better flow on offense."
The Vikings 'rowed' a wave of 3-point buckets in the first half and stormed to a 34-20 lead at the break.
Senior Tanner Gamble almost single-handedly sunk the Falcons, as he splashed home six-of-seven from beyond the arc and scored all of his game-high 18 points before halftime. McKay Richins also had double digits with 11 points and Jarom Tye checked in with 10 points and six rebounds.
Jordan Newby flew off the bench to lead the Falcons with 10 points and Jordan Nuffer added nine.
* SYRACUSE 48, GRANGER 36: At Syracuse, the Titans started well and made it pay off in a home win.
Brock Anderson led the Titans, who led 17-6 after the opening quarter, with 17 points. Jordan Pobanz added eight points and a dozen boards, while A.J. Wilcox chipped in with seven points for the Titans, 3-4 overall.
Makol Mawien led Granger with 15 points.
* MOUNTAIN 55, WEBER 49: At Hyrum, the Warriors suffered their first loss of the season, but the game featured a 39-point fourth quarter.
After a slow start, the Warriors battled back to trail by three entering the final period.
Hayden Schenck led Weber with 22 points, while Dylan Rogers added nine point and justin Nielsen chipped in with eight. Weber is now 5-1 on the season.
Famafili Laulu Pututau led the Mustangs (4-3) with 22 points, while Tyler Crosbie added 13 and Justin Petersen added 11.
* EAST 51, BONNEVILLE 48: At Washington Terrace, the Lakers staged a big rally but had the little things fail them late in a barnburner.
Down by 10 at the half, Bonneville rallied to take a 32-30 lead. The game see-sawed back and forth until the final minutes but the Lakers weren't able to get the shots to fall.
"A great team effort and a great game, but we just didn't make the most of our chances at the end," Bonneville coach Jason Finder said.
Parker Van Dyke led the Leopards with 29 points.
Quinton Larsen led the Lakers (3-3 on the season) with 18 points, nailing five 3-pointers. Jake Hutchens added eight points and seven rebounds, while Mason Rich chipped in with four points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
* KEARNS 58, ROY 53: At Kearns, the Cougars got the visiting Royals in the fourth period with a concerted comeback.
Roy led 40-37 after three periods but fell to 5-3 on the season.
Blake Toyn led Roy with 14 points, while Jesse Wayment and Brekkott Chapman scored a dozen each. Jaden Jackson added nine points.
Dayon Goodman scored 26 to pace Kearns.
* LOGAN 66, OGDEN 64: At Logan, the Grizzlies won a shootout with the hard-charging Tigers.
The game was close throughout and tied at 44 after three periods.
Spencer Smith nailed five 3-pointers to finish with 27 points for Ogden, now 3-4. Lyden Egbert added 16 for Ogden, while Anthony Sattiewhite added a dozen points.
Russell Murphy scored 17 and Johnny Luke added 15 for the Grizzlies, now 6-1. Dallin Dahl and Tyler Brimhall added nine points apiece.
* WEST JORDAN 67, DAVIS 52: At the Great Western Shootout in Orem, the Darts fell in the tournament nightcap.
The Darts are 5-2 on the season.
In other games, Layton Christian fell 64-56 to Wasatch Academy, and Woods Cross edged Taylorsville 59-46.
Region 11
* BEN LOMOND 47, BEAR RIVER 46: At Garland, Sterling Brandley nailed a buzzer-beating jumper to send the Scots to 2-0 in league play and the Bears home mad.
Josh Hardin scored 15 points, and Brandley added 11.
Bear River led most the final quarter, but the Scots (2-0 region, 6-2 overall) used a foul-for-profit strategy in the late-going and it worked.
After the Bears missed a pair of foul shots, Brandley took the outlet pass and maneuvered for the winning shots.
Taylor Ramsdell led the Bears (0-1, 1-7) with 16 points, while Tory Brown and Wade Miller added 10.
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