One little stumble a few weeks ago hasn’t set back the Davis boys basketball team. 

As the final week of the regular season arrives, the Darts are 20-1 overall and 9-1 in Region 1 play. Second-place Farmington is three games back at 6-4, meaning the Darts have won their third consecutive league crown.

More importantly, Davis has the No. 1 spot in the Class 6A RPI rankings. The Darts will almost certainly secure a first-round playoff bye and host a second-round game. 

Davis played just once last week and defeated Syracuse at home 45-34. In the low-scoring affair, Davis struggled to shoot just 16-44 from the field. But the defense clamped down, limiting Syracuse to 13-33 from the floor. The score was tied at 14-14 at halftime before the Darts had a successful 31-20 run in the second half. 

Rex Sunderland was the only Davis player to score in double figures, tallying 17 points. He also had four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Maxwell Painter had 10 rebounds to go with his six points. 

The Darts played at Clearfield on Tuesday. On Thursday, Davis hosted Fremont, the only team it has lost to all year. 

Farmington

In climbing up to second place in Region 1, the Phoenix have compiled an 11-10 record. The team won both of its games last week.

Farmington first dispatched Layton 66-61 in overtime. It was an up-and-down contest that saw the Phoenix enter the half up 37-25 only to see Layton outscore them 25-10 in the third quarter. Things were tied up at 58-58 at the end of regulation. Farmington allowed just three Layton points in the extra session. 

Collin Chandler showed why he is one of the state’s top players. He racked up 37 points and added five rebounds. Paul Beattie chipped in 11 points. 

Farmington then upended Syracuse 49-43 on Feb. 11. Chandler didn’t have quite the offensive explosion in this game, but he still led the team with 19 points. Beattie wasn’t far behind with 16. 

After playing at Weber on Tuesday, the Phoenix travelled to Clearfield on Thursday to finish the regular season. 

Woods Cross

In the 5A ranks, Woods Cross is vying for a Region 5 championship. Tied with Bonneville at 6-2 in league play, the Wildcats are 13-9 overall. 

This week is a huge one for the team. Woods Cross finishes the regular season at Bonneville in a game that should decide the region winner. Woods Cross hosted Viewmont on Wednesday, after our press deadline. 

Last week, Woods Cross edged Bountiful 53-50 on Feb. 9 behind 21 points and six rebounds from Mason Bendinger. Zach Delange had 12 points in the win. Two nights later, the Wildcats got by Northridge 56-52, making nine more free throws than the Knights. Jaxon Smith was the offensive star. The junior had a team-high 22 points. Bendinger and Nic Hogan each tallied 11 points, while Alex Brey had 10 rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocks. 

Viewmont

The Vikings are 4-4 in Region 5 and 9-12 overall as this week begins. The team is on a nice three-game winning streak as the final week of the regular season begins. 

The Vikings defeated Northridge 64-57 on Feb. 9, hitting an impressive 15 of 17 free throws. Zach Robison led all scorers with 21 points, while Scott Noel and Radek Pulsipher had 15 points and 19 points, respectively. Noel also pulled down 11 rebounds. 

On Feb. 11, Viewmont upset Bonneville 67-51 in a complete game where the Vikings scored 41 second-half points. Pulsipher had 21 points, and Robison added 13. 

After playing at Woods Cross on Wednesday, the Vikings end the regular season at home against Box Elder. 

Bountiful 

The Redhawks enter the final week of regular-season play at 1-7 in region games and 6-14 overall. 

After falling to Woods Cross on Feb. 9, the Redhawks came up short against Box Elder on Feb. 11, 55-46. Bountiful was up 28-18 at halftime but saw the Bees go on a 37-20 run in the second half. Trevin Ostler had a team-high 18 points, and Sam Stevenson had 12 points in defeat. 

Bountiful played at Bonneville on Wednesday and hosts Northridge on Friday. λ