A taste of what's to come: The best games to watch in the penultimate week of high school hoops

SALT LAKE CITY — The penultimate week of high school basketball has arrived.

Rural schools will finish regular-season play this week, which means region championships are up for grabs. In 5A and 6A, the return legs of earlier regular-season matchups promise more fireworks in an already wild season.

Here's the full slate of five games to watch in what's sure to be a great week of hoops.

Girls: Beaver vs. South Sevier (Tues., 7 p.m. MST)

The South Sevier Rams may be out of the running for the Region 18 championship, but that doesn't mean they can't play spoiler. The Beaver Beavers have their sights set on an outright crown, but South can help the Kanab Cowgirls steal a piece of the title with a home win over the Beavers Tuesday night.

In the last meeting, the Beaver defense held South Sevier to single-digit points in the first three quarters, while Alina Lurth and Gentry Brown provided the offense, combining for 20 of the 41 Beaver points, while the Rams' leading scorer, Kinley Jensen, was held to just nine points on the night.

If South Sevier wants to spoil the party, they'll need to find a way to make tough shots against the Beavers defense. Jensen and Patterson don't need to carry the load, but they'll need to be at their best if the Rams want to steal a win.

Boys: Skyridge vs. Lehi (Fri., 7:30 p.m. MST)

It's safe to say no one is overlooking the Skyridge Falcons anymore. Ever since they stunned Lehi on Jan. 19, the Falcons sit right on the heels of the Pioneers, who are alone in first in Region 3 by one game over American Fork heading into the week.

Jeff Gardner's team has gotten better with every game, and they appear to be hitting their stride at the right time heading into the playoffs. Quincy Lewis' team, on the other hand, will be looking for revenge on their home floor, where Lehi has been dominant in his tenure.

Many of you remember Tate Larson drilling six three-pointers, helping the Falcons overcome the onslaught of Cooper Lewis, who exploded for 22 second-half points on that January night. It only makes you wonder what fireworks are coming next at This is the Place Pioneer Arena Friday night, in front of what's expected to be another boisterous, standing-room only crowd.

Boys: Judge Memorial vs. American Heritage (Fri., 7 p.m. MST)

Another team with a chance to play spoiler will get extra motivation to do it on the opposing squad's senior night as Judge Memorial visits American Heritage Friday night.

The top two teams in 3A Region 14 will meet for the second time in a week, following the 75-61 victory by the Bulldogs over the Patriots just three days ago. But this one means more as this decides who wins the outright region crown. Four players, including guard Aaydan Saucedo, scored in double figures for Judge, outdueling the Winitana brothers, Mana and Niwhai, who combined for 47 of the 61 Patriots points.

The scenario for both teams is simple: the winner gets the region title. The only question is how it plays out; a Patriots win will give both teams a shared crown, while a Bulldogs win gives them the title outright.

Girls: Tabiona vs. Rich (Sat., 7 p.m. MST)

Get ready for some Saturday night fever as the Tigers and Rebels square off in a crucial matchup to decide the Region 22 title race.

On January 12, it was the Rebels who marched in and stole a 50-42 victory on the road. Forward Haydee Pugmire led Rich with 13 points, adding four rebounds, and Molly Weston added 10 more in what was a feisty game.

Now, the Tigers are looking to steal one on the Rebels' home floor to end the season, and potentially steal a piece of, or maybe, the outright region crown on Saturday night. It will indeed be a prize fight in northeast Utah with massive implications as the winner likely avoids having to play top-ranked Monument Valley until at least the 1A championship game in Cedar City.

Girls: Corner Canyon vs. Copper Hills (Thurs., 7 p.m. MST)

The No. 1-ranked Copper Hills Grizzlies have been virtually unstoppable all season long.

Their only blemish came courtesy of the Corner Canyon Chargers, who pulled off a 52-48 upset of the Grizz back in January. Now, a month removed from that bitter defeat, Jake Timpson's team is looking for revenge Thursday night as they head into the final week of the regular season.

A win over Corner Canyon would all but seal an outright region title for the Grizzlies, who haven't won a region championship in girls basketball since 2019. They already hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against Bingham, having swept both meetings with the Miners. However, a Chargers win would throw the entire race into chaos, ensuring it would come down to the final week of regular season play to decide the champion.

See the full schedule for this week in high school boys basketball here, and for girls, click here.

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