After their victory on Friday night, the Pinnacle Panther boys basketball team can call themselves something that they have never been able to, Region 23 Champions. Taking to their home floor against the Monticello Buckaroo, the Panthers celebrated “Senior Night”, and using a big second half, earned a share of the crown defeating Monticello, 50-38.

The Panthers finished the regular season 17-6 overall and with a 7-1 region mark.

Monticello ended with a 10-9 overall record and went 7-1 in region play as well. The only losses the two teams received in conference play were against each other, thus they would split the Region 23 crown.

The Panthers would start out pretty quietly in the first half only managing to put up 16, and actually would trail the Buckaroo 19-16 going into the locker room at half time.

In the second half, the Panthers came out in the third doubling up their score from the first half, putting 16 points on the board and using their defense to hold the Buckaroo to eight, they then moved into the fourth, creating even more distance and taking a 50-38 win.

Easton Young scored 12 for Monticello, and Curtis Bunker and Donovan Atwood each had seven.

Pinnacle’s Cole Barton led all scorers with 20, as Brody Howell had 11. Jonathan Kessler and Ryker Howell each scored seven in the win.

The Panthers will now welcome Dugway to Price on Saturday for the opening round of the 1A State Championships. Back in late November, the two squads faced each other on Dugway’s home floor with the Panthers earning an 80-20 win.

A Pinnacle victory would move them into the next round to take on Wendover in Richfield on March 1.