The season is young, but every win is important, especially in the Utah High School Activities Association’s RPI system. 

And a trio of Davis County teams helped themselves build their resumes for the postseason. 

Woods Cross

The Wildcats are off to a 5-2 start, having won four straight entering this week. Last year, Woods Cross was 6-1 after seven games. 

The Wildcats took down a pair of opponents last week, both in close fashion. The first victory was an 89-87 thriller in double overtime over Syracuse on Dec. 18. Five Wildcats reached double figures in scoring, with two players – Mason Bendinger (27 points) and Jaxon Smith (20) – scoring at least 20 points on the night. Smith also had five rebounds and six assists. Keegan Phung may have had the best all-around game. He tallied 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and five steals. George Makris had 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Alex Earl had 11 points. 

The next night, Woods Cross hosted East and outlasted the Leopards 51-48 in a much more defensive effort. Phung led the way with 12 points, and Bendinger had 10 points and seven rebounds. 

The Wildcats played at Green Canyon on Tuesday, after our press deadline. 

Viewmont 

The Vikings played just once last week but made the most of the opportunity, defeating Highland 71-51 on Dec. 18. With the win, the Vikings evened their record at 3-3. 

To achieve its second-straight win, Viewmont used big second and third quarters. Up 13-12 after the first six minutes, Viewmont outscored the Rams 18-6 in the second and 26-16 in the third to open up a comfortable margin. Viewmont shot 54% from the field and played stifling defense against a Highland team that had just 34 points through three quarters. 

In the victory, Radek Pulsipher poured in 19 points, including four three-pointers. Teammates Brash Emery and John Barnes had 18 points and 17 points, respectively. Emery also had a team-high six assists, while Barnes added six rebounds. 

Viewmont had a chance to go above .500 on Dec. 22 when it hosted Syracuse. 

Davis 

The Darts dropped their first two games of the season but have been on a tear since. Davis won a trio of games last week to bring its streak to five consecutive victories. 

Win No. 1 a week ago came against crosstown foe Bountiful, 73-55 on Dec. 15. A look at the box score reveals that the contest was close throughout, except for the decisive second quarter. During this six-minute stretch, Davis blitzed Bountiful 21-5. Colby Sims drained seven three-pointers on his way to 25 points. Rex Sunderland added 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. Henry Ihrig chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. 

The following evening, Davis got past Box Elder 49-42, limiting the Bees to just 11 points in the first half. The offense struggled throughout parts of the game, but Sunderland did manage 13 points, while Chance Trujillo had eight points and seven rebounds. 

On Dec. 18, everything seemed to click for the Darts against Herriman in a 60-28 rout. Quarters one and three were particularly dominant for Davis on the defensive end, as the team allowed just one and three points, respectively. In the third quarter, Davis went on a 23-3 run. Overall, the Darts surrendered just eight converted shorts from the floor by Herriman. Ten Darts scored, led by Ihrig’s 14. Tate Garff contributed 11 points, while Colby Sims scored 10 points. 

Davis is off until Dec. 30 when it plays at Bingham.