Great night at free-throw line lifts Bonneville boys past Northridge, into top spot in Region 5
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- Northridge forward Landon Woll (3) drives against Bonneville’s Carson Jones (21) on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, at Bonneville High School in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville’s Carson Jones (21) prepares to shoot in a game against Northridge on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, at Bonneville High School in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Northridge guard Sam Sivulich (10) drives against Bonneville’s Bo Dixon on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, at Bonneville High School in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville’s Jake Williams (4) passes the ball past Northridge’s Logan Birt (21) on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, at Bonneville High School in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville students yell during a boys basketball game against Northridge on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, at Bonneville High School in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Northridge forward De’Quone Kennedy (22) and Bonneville’s Miwa Brown (30) battle for position on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, at Bonneville High School in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville guard Jake Williams (4) shoots over Northridge’s Jack Terry (23) on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, at Bonneville High School in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Northridge forward Spencer Gill shoots in a game against Bonneville on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, at Bonneville High School in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Bonneville’s Carson Jones prepares to pass in a game against Northridge on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, at Bonneville High School in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Northridge’s Ben Harward (11) surveys the court as Bonneville’s Jake Williams (4) defends on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, at Bonneville High School in Washington Terrace. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
WASHINGTON TERRACE — Free throws have been a well-documented and explored issue for Bonneville High’s boys basketball team, making the charity stripe a not-so charitable experience.
One game this year, the Lakers shot 8 of 19 at the line.
“I think sometimes it’s pressure. I think pressure gets to us, but we’ve worked a lot in practice, we’ve shot a lot of free throws, and it showed tonight,” said Lakers junior guard Bo Dixon.
“We haven’t exactly lit the world on fire, I think our highest free-throw percentage on a team is about 63%,” Lakers coach Kyle Bullinger said.
Friday night against Northridge, Bonneville’s free throws flowed.
They had a 19-of-25 performance at the foul line that was fueled by Dixon’s perfect 14-of-14 mark, all of which led to a 63-55 win over the Knights in a contentious Region 5 battle.
“It feels good, (free throws) are something you work at and you want it to show,” Dixon said. “We all played great, we wanted it, we went and got it.”
Dixon scored a game-high 29 points and made 10 free throws in the fourth quarter when Bonneville (14-3, 5-1 Region 5) was protecting a one-possession lead, a lead that eventually grew to two possessions.
“When you have a kid who goes 14 of 14 in a game, you’re not going to lose those games very often,” Bullinger said.
Dixon’s 29 points outpaced Northridge (9-9, 2-4) guard Sam Sivulich, who attacked the basket at will and from everywhere on the court, collecting most of his 26 points on a variety of lightning-quick, dribble-drive floaters and layups.
Bonneville’s win, coupled with Box Elder’s loss at Woods Cross, gives the Lakers sole possession of first place in Region 5 until at least Wednesday when they visit the aforementioned Bees.
In terms of the 5A RPI standings, Bonneville entered the night ranked No. 4 and likely won’t rise or drop. Northridge entered at No. 15, right on the cusp of hosting a home playoff game, a privilege afforded to teams that finish No. 16 or better in the RPI standings.
Friday’s first quarter had nine lead changes alone (there were 11 lead changes in the first half). The only real separation any team had in the first half came from a 9-0 Bonneville run in the second quarter to extend the lead to 29-23. Sivulich got a steal and layup to cut the Bonneville lead to 31-29 at the break.
Northridge took a rare lead early in the third quarter, 38-35, but Bonneville came right back and went ahead 42-38.
Then, the heated nature of this game — there was a large crowd with plenty of jeering between the student sections — showed through with offsetting technical fouls on Ben Harward and Koy Dixon that came after a loose-ball foul and an ensuing skirmish that the referees broke up.
A basket by Bonneville’s Carson Jones and a banked-in heave at the buzzer by Nathan Burdett off a broken inbound play made it 47-41 Bonneville heading to the fourth quarter.
When Bo Dixon wasn’t scoring for the Lakers they relied on Jones inside, who scored 18 points, including 11 in the second half.
The fourth quarter was another seesaw affair and Northridge got within two points a few times but never could tie the game or take the lead.
That can be chalked up to a few too many missed shots, two players fouling out down the stretch and, as mentioned, the Lakers’ success shooting free throws.
The win now puts Bonneville in a somewhat familiar position. The Lakers were in first place in Region 5 through five games last season before fading down the stretch and watching Farmington run away with the region championship.
“We can’t get discouraged if we drop one or drop two, teams (in our region) are really good,” Bullinger said.
Bullinger urged Bonneville to stay the course, because it doesn’t get easier for the Lakers.
In that upcoming Wednesday trip, they’ll visit a Box Elder team that’s coming off a 31-point loss and that still has a legitimate chance to take the lead in Region 5.
