High school boys basketball: Provo holds off Mountain View 50-38

OREM — Provo staved off a scrappy Mountain View team to secure a 50-38 victory and its first region win of the year. The victory ended a five-game losing streak for a Provo team that has sustained some devastating injuries to key players early this season.

The Bulldogs used balanced scoring a strong play in the paint to jump on the Bruins early and maintain a double-digit lead throughout the game. Brian Carter led Provo with 15 points with Wesley Bosco chipping in another 12.

“We had a lot of guys step and play well and we finally have Wesley (Bosco) back after he’d been out with injury, so that’s big for us and he played well tonight,” said Provo coach Craig Drury. “It’s been tough this year with injuries, but fortunately we’re getting more healthy and we’re getting a good team effort.”

Provo is without Bosco’s older brother, Dallin Bosco who sustained a season-ending injury that set the team back out of the gate. Dallin Bosco was regarded as the team leader and arguably its best player along with fellow senior Adam Finch, who is the Bulldog’s leading scorer on the year, but finished the night with just seven points.

“Adam (Finch) is a point guard and he knows how to play like a point guard and that means he doesn’t always have to score,” Drury said. “He did great in getting everyone involved tonight and that’s what great point guards do.”

Provo built a 14-point lead with nine straight points to open the second quarter and didn’t allow Mountain View to cut the deficit to single-digits thereafter. The Bruins wouldn’t quit, however, and did their best to keep the game from getting completely out of hand.

“It seemed every time we looked as if we’d run away with it that they’d come back,” Drury noted. “I think we lost some of our mental focus at times, but credit goes to Mountain View. That’s a tough team there that is getting better. Fortunately we showed enough focus to keep the lead and get out of here with a victory.”

Landon Stewart, who finished with a team-high 10 points, led Mountain View.

Drury received key contributions off the bench and singled out senior Miles Miller as someone who played big down the stretch.

“I though Miles (Miller) came in and gave us a lot of energy and stepped up and made some big plays when we needed it late,” Drury said. “We’ve struggled with guys stepping up to be leaders since we lost Dallin, but I think we have guys stepping out and hopefully that continues.”

With the win, Provo improves to 5-6 on the year and 1-1 in region play. It will next take on Salem Hills at home this Friday. Mountain View drops to 4-6 and 0-2 in region play and will next take on Maple Mountain at home.