Manti boys split final week of region play, rebound with road win at Union

MANTI — The Manti boys basketball team closed the regular season last week with a split in Region 13 play, dropping a home contest to Carbon before responding with a road victory at Union to finish league play on a positive note.

Manti opened the week with a 69–62 loss to Carbon on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at Manti High School. The Dinos set the tone early, taking an 18–13 lead after the first quarter and carrying a five-point advantage into halftime. Carbon continued to control the tempo in the second half, edging the Templars 36–32 after the break to secure the road win.

Despite the loss, Manti stayed competitive throughout, matching Carbon’s scoring in the middle quarters before being outpaced late in the fourth. The defeat marked Manti’s second loss to Carbon in a three-week span, following an earlier overtime win against the Dinos on Jan. 16.

The Templars responded two nights later with a 61–52 win at Union on Friday, Feb. 6, closing the regular season with a strong defensive effort on the road. Manti built a 26–19 halftime lead and maintained control through the third quarter before pulling away in the final period by outscoring the Cougars 18–15.

Stone Mortensen led the Templars with 14 points, knocking down three 3-pointers to pace Manti’s offense. Andrew Rowley and Carter Mason added 13 points each, giving Manti three players in double figures as the team balanced its scoring across the lineup.

The win completed a season sweep of Union for Manti and snapped the Cougars’ hopes of evening the series. Union’s Ryan Oakey led all scorers with 18 points in the loss.

With the split, Manti finished the regular season at 9–14 overall and 5–3 in Region 13 play, good for second place in the region standings. The Templars enter the postseason on a one-game winning streak and will open the 3A boys basketball state tournament on Friday, Feb. 13, with a road game at Ogden.