The Skyview High men’s basketball team never led the Warriors of Snow Canyon High Thursday night, losing their first basketball game of the year by a four-point margin, 50-46.

Jordan Nielsen of Skyview was the only Bobcat to score in the first four minutes of the first quarter as Snow Canyon rode the strong post presence of Snow Canyon Seniors Xavier Fely and Preston Root on a 10-2 run to open up the game.

Sky View’s starting guard Grayson Moore said the poor start was out of character for the Bobcats.

“We weren’t flying around like we usually do,” he said. “We were just sitting back, letting them come to us and letting them have their way.”

Sky View struggled immensely with ball control and passing in the first half. Official statistics said Skyview turned the ball over six times in the first quarter, but in reality, the total was much, much higher than that.

“We probably had 15 or 20 turnovers in the first half,” Sky View head coach Kevin Andersen said. “That’s more turnovers than points. You can’t come out of the gates, play like that, and expect to win.”

Sky View’s problem worsened in the second quarter. The Bobcats started the quarter trailing by 11, and that margin grew. Sloppy offensive play continued to plague Sky View throughout the second quarter, as the Bobcats only scored five points in the second. Fortunately for Sky View, Snow Canyon didn’t have a particularly spectacular second quarter either. The Warriors managed to put up eight points, and held a 14-point lead heading to halftime.

Andersen said he was disappointed in the team’s first half performance.

“You dig yourself that big of a hole, it’s tough to come back,” he said. “How many times have you seen a team come back and get close but not be able to finish it. It takes a lot of energy to do that and you can’t dig yourself that big of a hole.”

Sky View did their best to discover and implement that energy. A different, more driven Sky View team emerged in the second half.

“Halfway through the third quarter,” Moore said, “we got it going, and in the fourth quarter we started playing like a team, how we should play.”

At one point in the fourth quarter, Snow Canyon held a 15-point lead, and the game seemed to be heading for a Warrior blowout. But it was not to be.

With 3:57 remaining in the game, Sky View went on a huge run to 16-8 run. Starting Center Casey Oliverson did nearly all the work for the Bobcats down the stretch. In fact, he was the star of the fourth quarter, throwing down back-to-back-to-back dunks and sparking life into Sky View’s team and crowd near the end of regulation. He had a game high 21 points for the Bobcats, but also missed several crucial free throws down the stretch.

Coach Andersen said he wished Oliverson’s “A” game had come sooner.

“There were some exciting plays and they got us going a bit,” he said, “but we need that from the get-go and not when there’s three minutes left in the game.”

Over the final minutes of regulation, Snow Canyon’s double digit lead evaporated. With 3.7 seconds remaining, Snow Canyon led by 2 and had possession. Sky View, of course, was forced to foul immediately, and Snow Canyon’s Austin Ovard went to the line and sunk two very crucial free throws to seal the win for the Warriors.

Despite the very strong second half in which Sky View outscored Snow Canyon 33-23, Andersen said his team’s effort came up well short of what he expected.

“We played well for about 3 minutes tonight,” he said. “Pulling within two, we’ve got to be able to play with that kind of emotion from the get-go.”

Sky View has very little time to bounce back from this nailbiter. The Bobcats will face Pineview High School at home Friday night.

“We’ve got to learn quick,” Andersen said. “If we can learn something from this game, then it will be a positive for us.”

Tipoff is at 7 p.m.