With two fewer teams in their region than those in Region 5, Davis and Farmington are just getting ready to begin Region 1 play. Both teams had strong showings in non-region action. 

Davis 

The 9-4 Darts tip off the Region 1 slate this Friday at Fremont. Davis went 6-6 in region last year. 

Last week, the Darts prepped for the start of region games by defeating two non-league opponents. The Darts took care of Bingham 67-58 on Jan. 3 and won at Mountain Ridge two days later in a 57-56 overtime thriller. 

Against Bingham, Davis had big first and fourth quarters, scoring 20 and 23 points, respectively. Zach Fisher led the way in points and rebounds, tallying 19 and five in the two categories. Ike Morgan had 15 points and five assists. Coleman Atwater had a solid outing, posting 12 points, three rebounds and four assists. 

The closely contested game against Mountain Ridge saw Davis give up a fourth-quarter lead, only for the Darts to win the overtime battle. Atwater was the game’s top scorer with 18 points. Fisher and Easton Ralphs each had 14, with the latter hauling down a team-best seven rebounds. 

In one last outing before region play gets underway, Davis lost its fourth game in 13 tries by falling to Lehi on Tuesday, 54-39. Lehi used big second and third quarters to run to victory. Facing a good defensive team, Davis didn’t have anyone reach double figures in points. Fisher had a team-high nine points, with Bode Sparrow and Ralphs getting seven. 

Farmington

The Phoenix have had a long break in the action, having not been on the court in a game since dispatching Copper Hills 54-51 on Dec. 30. Farmington opens Region 1 with a road game at Weber on Friday. 

Like Davis, Farmington was 6-6 in region play a year ago, tying for fourth place. Farmington defeated Weber in both of last year’s meeting, winning 77-69 and 76-59 in the two contests. 

Head coach Kasey Walkenhurst has relied heavily on senior Paul Beattie, who leads the team and is fifth in Class 6A in scoring with an average of 19.9 a game. Fellow senior Jayden Haskell has been a big contributor too. He scores 13.5 points a game and has been in double figures nine times. He scored a season-high 29 points Dec. 8 at Skyridge. A senior-laden team, Farmington also has 12th-grader Carter Nordquist, who is averaging 7.1 points per game. 

The Phoenix and Darts will both place all five Region 1 opponents twice. Playoff positioning is based on a team’s overall record as well as strength of schedule, which is determined by opponents’ records.