1A BOYS: Hoiser leads Pahranagat Valley boys past Henderson International in 1A Southern Region semifinal

Henderson International coach Greg Stephens knew Pahranagat Valley’s Cody Hoiser could shoot after the first time the teams met.

Stephens’ players did their best to contain the sophomore shooter Friday, but it was to no avail as Hoiser scored 36 points to lead the Panthers to a 57-46 victory over the Wolverines in the Class 1A Southern Region semifinals at Durango.

“It seemed like everything he threw up went in,” Stephens said of Hoiser. “We just didn’t do a very good job of staying with him as he worked his tail off to get open, and he just hit the shots they needed.”

Pahranagat Valley plays Lake Mead in the region title game at 1:40 p.m. Saturday at Durango. Both teams will advance to state.

Hoiser had 15 points in the first quarter to give his team a 19-11 lead.

“We can count on Cody down the stretch,” Pahranagat coach Brian Higbee said. “He’s a little guy, but he’s a competitor and packs a pretty big punch.”

Hoiser’s jumper in traffic with 5:17 left in the third quarter gave the Panthers a 33-20 lead, and they took a 41-28 edge into the fourth quarter.

Henderson International’s Rob Sampson converted a second-chance layup with 5:10 left to make it 41-34.

The Panthers didn’t allow the Wolverines to get any closer after Henderson International began fouling to stop the clock with 3:35 remaining.

Hoiser was 8-for-10 from the line in the final minutes.

Danny Moerman and Clay Tormey each had 13 points for Henderson International.

Lake Mead 58, Beatty 32 — At Durango, Landon Littlefield scored 11 of his game-high 20 points to spark a 17-2 Eagles run to open the game, and Lake Mead cruised from there and toppled the Hornets in the other semifinal.

De’Quan Thompson had 12 points and Jeffrey Newton 10 for the Eagles.

Lake Mead coach Jeff Newton said he was happy with the win but didn’t think his team had the same spark after its initial outburst.

“We started well, but that was the most intensity we had all game,” Newton said. “I think you have to credit Beatty. I don’t think we defended well in the first half, but we did better in the second half.
“But to be honest, I think overall Beatty played harder.”

Jeff Newton said he got on his team at halftime about its defensive effort, and the Eagles responded by shutting out the Hornets in the third quarter.

In fact, after Joe Serrano’s 3-pointer cut the Lake Mead lead to 29-20 with 2:45 left in the second quarter, the Hornets did not score a point for the next 10 minutes, 24 seconds.

Serrano finished with 11 points to lead Beatty.