The newest addition to the Cache Valley prep landscape has just ridged the experience gap in the 3A basketball state championships. Every “Juan” in the Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum today watched in awe as private school powerhouse Juan Diego was thwarted by the Ridgeline Riverhawks.
The school in the scenic countryside of Millville Utah is just a downtown drive away from the location of the 3A championships this year as the game was played in the tradition rich Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum. This is where the Utah State Aggies play. The Hurd, One of the best student sections west of the Mississippi, cheers on the Aggies later tonight for senior night as they host the Air Force Falcons.
Ridgeline had quite the homecourt advantage themselves. This smalltown group has assembled the best 3A offense in the state and this was quite the case in the title game tonight as they made a sizzling 61 percent of their field goals.
The star of the night was Theron Wallentine who missed more seldomly than a Splash Brother as he made 10 of his 12 attempts to record a 23 point night.
Juan Diego isn’t unfamiliar with the Riverhawks as these two squads have met twice in region play this regular season with the home court advantage winning each time. The best of three series this year went to the team that had the hometown advantage as Cache Valley natives gathered to see what this newly constructed team could do.
While it is hard for new NBA Super teams to win their first year, high school teams like Ridgeline are a different story. The Riverhawks have had this dream of winning the title ever since the former Mountain Crest players decided to transfer to the new school last spring.
Professional basketball players ball out for money but these prep players are doing it all for the love of the game.
These Riverhawks like to shoot so they will be looking to make a splash in prep basketball next year and beyond. Pretty soon these Riverhawks will be the best Hawks team west of the Mississippi River.
The East Coast belongs to the NBA playoff contender Atlanta Hawks. The Riverhawks from a small town in Cache Valley own the west side for at least today.