After a lengthy slate of non-league contests, Region 5 boys basketball teams are ready to jump into region action. Heading into the league play, Woods Cross has more overall wins than any other Region 5 foe. 

Woods Cross

 The 9-3 Wildcats play at Box Elder this Friday, putting their three-game winning streak on the line. So far, Mason Bendinger is the team’s lead scorer, averaging more than 17 points a game. Alex Brey is chipping in 8.8 points a contest, while Cade Eberhardt scores an even eight points each night. Brey is the leading rebounder at nearly seven a game. 

The Wildcats prepared for the start of the Region 5 battles by defeating American Fork on Jan. 6, 59-51. It was just the fourth loss of the year in 14 tries for the Cavemen. Woods Cross got off to a hot start, leading 21-5 after one quarter. From there, American Fork never really threatened. Bendinger had 21 points, while Jaxon Smith added 18 for the Wildcats. Brey had eight rebounds and three assists. 

Bountiful

The Redhawks have dropped three games in a row heading into region play. Now at 4-6, Bountiful tips off Region 5 action on Friday at Viewmont. Before that, there is one more non-league game, an intriguing matchup with Real Salt Lake Academy on Wednesday. 

Bountiful came out of the holiday break with a pair of losses last week: 86-73 to Herriman on Jan. 3 and 64-53 to Lone Peak on Jan. 6. In the high-scoring loss to Herriman, Carson Smith poured in 33 points. Danny Holland had 15 points, and Charlie Smith 10. But the Redhawks had trouble stopping the Herriman offense. The Mustangs had 57 points in the first half alone while building a 22-point lead. 

Against Lone Peak, Bountiful did a much better job defensively and got out to a 20-13 lead after one quarter. But Lone Peak charged back to outscore the Redhawks in each of the final three quarters. Carson Smith and Charlie Smith had 15 points and 14 points, respectively. Holland and Sam Stevenson each had 10 points. 

Viewmont

Friday’s game with Bountiful will be Viewmont’s chance to improve on its 5-8 record. 

The Vikings did pick up a blowout win over West Jordan a week ago. On Jan. 3, Viewmont used a 43-point second half to win 68-46 over the Jaguars. Jaxon Heusser hit five three-pointers for all of his 15 points. Scott Noel had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Mitch Jeppesen had 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Zach Robison added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. 

On Jan. 6, the Vikings lost to Riverton, despite getting off to a 14-8 lead after one quarter. Riverton would go on to win 64-57. Noel led the way for the Vikings with 13 points and five rebounds. Trevor Green and Drez Jensen had 11 points and 10 points, respectively. 

Davis 

Up in Region 1, teams have already played a few league games. The Darts entered the week at 7-6 overall and 1-1 in Region 1. 

Davis improved with win No. 8 on the year and went to 2-1 in league action with a lopsided 82-55 win over Weber. The Darts had 70 points over the final three quarters. Coleman Atwater had 19 points and seven rebounds, including five three-pointers. Colby Whicker had 18 points and five rebounds, while Zach Fisher had 12 points and nine rebounds. Kaden Eggett had 17 points and five boards. Davis connected on 14 three-pointers on the night. 

Davis hosts Syracuse on Friday. 

Farmington

The Phoenix are currently 8-4 overall but dropped their first two region games. This week, Farmington hosts Layton with a key game this Friday. 

Farmington lost to Davis 65-58 on Jan. 6, after trailing by 17 heading into the fourth quarter. Farmington struggled from the field, making 20 of 52 shots. Cole Johnson led the team in scoring with 17 points, but Paul Beattie was the biggest all-around star in the loss. He had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Jayden Haskell had double figures in scoring with 10. Davis had 13 three-pointers to six for Farmington. 

The Phoenix also lost last week to Fremont by seven points, 62-55. Beattie had 21 points and seven boards to pace Farmington. Johnson had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.