1A BOYS BASKETBALL: Maxwell trio leads Pahranagat Valley past Beatty

It was a family affair for the Pahranagat Valley boys basketball team Friday afternoon in the Class 1A Southern League semifinals.

Senior Tabor Maxwell scored a game-high 23 points in only 15 minutes of action before handing it off to younger brothers — junior Brodey and sophomore Stockton — in the second half in the Panthers’ 74-29 win over Beatty at Sunrise Mountain.

“That’ll be memories for them forever,” Pahranagat Valley coach Mike Strong said. “They’re going to talk during Thanksgiving dinners about that kind of thing. For that family, it’s good to have those memories.”

After Pahranagat Valley quickly fell behind 2-0, Tabor Maxwell hit two 3-pointers and scored 14 first-quarter points to show his younger siblings how it was done and give the Panthers a 27-9 lead.

“It’s really fun to see,” Tabor Maxwell said. “Just like coach Strong said, it’s going to (give us) memories 15 years down the road when we’re all sitting at Thanksgiving dinner like, ‘Remember that time we all played together? How fun was that?’”

Tabor Maxwell, who also finished with three steals and two assists, scored 20 first-half points to give the Panthers a 46-18 halftime lead. He played only six minutes in the second half, but finished 6-for-9 shooting and made 9 of 10 free throws.

“This whole year, I’ve just been working on attacking the basket,” Tabor Maxwell said. “If they take that away, the outside shot will open up. And it helps when they triple team the big guy (6-foot-9-inch teammate Culen Highbe) down low.”

The rest of the Maxwells sealed the deal in the second half to send Pahrangat Valley (23-2) into league final against Spring Mountain (14-10) at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Sunrise Mountain.

Brodey Maxwell scored five of his six points in the third quarter, and Stockton Maxwell added seven fourth-quarter points.

In the fourth quarter, with Tabor Maxwell out and dressed in warm-up gear, Brodey and Stockton Maxwell showed athleticism runs in the family. The two made identical plays on back-to-back possessions, where each stole the ball at midcourt and drove to the hoop while earning a foul call in transition. The only difference: Stockton Maxwell converted both of his free throws, perhaps hoping to earn some bragging rights.

Highbe had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Christian Higbee scored 11 for Pahranagat Valley, which shot 59 percent from the field and played all 14 of its players.

“We’ll take that any day,” Strong said. “It’s a lot of fun (to see everyone get in) because all these kids work hard. It’s so much fun for them to have the opportunity to play and get after it.”

Jacob Oseguera had nine points and six rebounds to lead Beatty (14-6).

Spring Mountain 69, Round Mountain 50 — Randell Mosely led a balanced attack with 15 points as the Golden Eagles cruised by the Knights in the other 1A semifinal.

“Mosely showed up,” Spring Mountain coach Asad Ali said. “He ran the court, got rebounds, played his role. He’s the unsung hero. My guards are flashy, but he does the dirty work-type deal.”

Kamari Kelly added 13 points, and Deon Lee scored 11 for Spring Mountain, which also got nine points from Eric Brooks and eight from Anthony Garrett. The Golden Eagles, who led 25-10 after the first quarter and 33-16 at halftime, pulled away with a 23-13 third quarter.

But their once 27-point lead was cut to 14 points in the fourth quarter.

“They got too complacent at the end and lost focus,” Ali said. “They didn’t do what they’re supposed to do. Some guys maintained their focus, but other guys lost focus thinking it was going to be easy.”

Payton Brown had 20 points, and Corbin Jensen scored 16 for Round Mountain (11-10).