×
×
homepage logo
SUBSCRIBE

Boys basketball: Bonneville outlasts Roy in low-scoring battle

By Bob Judson - Special to the Standard-Examiner | Dec 10, 2021

ROY — Just because the Bonneville-Roy boys basketball matchup was low-scoring doesn’t mean there was a lack of dramatic moments Friday night.

In a game designed around tall people, the Lakers 5-foot-7 guard Bo Dixon stepped up big.

Dixon splashed home seven straight free throws in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and undefeated Bonneville escaped with a comeback, 42-37 non-region victory over the Royals.

The Lakers had missed six consecutive charity tosses to open the final frame when Dixon was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 2:11 left.

He drained all three free throws to bring the game to a 37-37 tie, then twice more went 2 for 2 in a little over a minute to ice the victory.

“It’s a big moment. You’ve got to have it and step up big, and knock down free throws and just do what I need to do to help the team win,” Dixon said. “Our misses earlier in the quarter were in the past, move on to the next.”

Bonneville (5-0) had taken command after three quarters, leading 32-24, but Roy’s last basket of the third started an 11-0 run that resulted in a 33-32 lead midway through the fourth period.

Carson Hamer led the Royals’ (1-3) comeback with six of the 11 points, including the go-ahead basket and free throw to give them the one-point lead.

It was then tied or the lead changed hands five times down the stretch.

“It’s a momentum thing, you know, but once we got a couple of stops we were back on track,” Dixon said. “We knew what we had to do to win; stepped up big, got a couple of stops and made some free throws.”

Dixon gave Bonneville the lead for good with a pair of free throws at the 1:04 mark and closed it out with the other two with 7.9 seconds remaining.

He also had a steal and forced a five-second defense call late in the game that gave the Lakers the ball on turnovers.

“There’s different ways you can affect the game and it starts with defense,” Dixon said.

Besides going 7 of 7 from the line, Dixon had a pair of treys and led the Lakers with 15 points. Cousin Koy Dixon was next in line for the Lakers with seven points.

Roy’s run ultimately ended at 15-2 and the Royals had a 37-34 lead before Dixon led the Lakers back.

All 10 Bonneville points in the fourth quarter were from free throws.

“We made a good run and showed some character as a basketball team,” Roy coach Scott Hunt said. “I was proud of our guys for that. That foul on the 3-point shooter kind of changed the momentum back to them. We’re getting better all the time.”

Hamer led the Royals with 9 points and Beau Belnap and Spencer Bessinger added 8 each.

Newsletter

Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)