BOUNTIFUL — Bountiful High remained on course for the Region 6 title with an overwhelming 71-48 beating of visiting East Tuesday night.

The Braves jumped out to an 11-4 lead on back-to-back bombs by McKay LaSalle and never trailed again as they raced out to a 34-18 halftime lead.

“We got out quickly on them; then we got a little sloppy toward the end of the first quarter,” said Bountiful coach Mike Maxwell. “Once the second quarter started we really got into a groove.”

The Braves went to a full court pressure defense and held the Leopards to just three points in the second quarter.

“I think our pressure defense was good tonight,” Maxwell said. “We were able to take control of the game at that point.”

Bountiful was led by Mick Williams’ 20 points, three assists and one block.

LaSalle finished with 17 points, three assists and two steals while Dillon Salazar chipped in 13 points to go with six assists.

“What was real nice is we built up our lead, remained fresh and continued to play hard,” Maxwell said. “It’s always a concern when you get a big lead that you can get into a false sense of security and allow a team back into the game. I thought the guys did a great job of keeping the pressure on East all night.”

The Braves also had the chance to empty the bench. This is something Maxwell also was pleased to see.

“It’s always good when guys who work hard get to contribute,” he said. “All of the guys work hard so it’s good for them.”

Bountiful hosts Tooele on Friday and then heads to Olympus Tuesday for what is likely to be a game to decide the Region 6 championship.

“We each have a loss, and we each need to win Friday to have the game for the Region title,” Maxwell said. “I’m not even thinking that far in advance. We need to take care of one game at a time.”

sschulte@davisclipper.com