By Josh McFadden

Region 1 boys basketball teams finally tipped off league play, a week or two after most of the other regions in the state. Woods Cross and Bountiful both got off to 1-0 starts. 

Woods Cross

The Wildcats moved to 10-3 on the season by winning their opening Region 1 contest over Box Elder on Jan. 13. The victory was hardly an easy one, as the Wildcats prevailed in a low-scoring affair, 45-44. It was Woods Cross’ second-lowest scoring output of the season, next to its 38 points in a 25-point loss to Olympus on Dec. 8.

But strong defense helped get the win for the Wildcats. 

Woods Cross limited Box Elder to just 20 points in the second half. The Bees also made just 16 shots all evening. For the Wildcats, Jaxon Smith paced the team with 16 points. Mason Bendinger had 11 points. Alex Brey might have been the biggest overall contributor in the game, as he scored seven points and pulled down 12 rebounds. 

The Wildcats faced Bountiful at home on Wednesday before hosting Northridge on Friday. 

Bountiful and Viewmont

As for the Redhawks, they also began the region season at 1-0. Bountiful snapped a four-game losing streak to move to 5-7 overall by defeating Viewmont 64-53 on Jan. 13.

The Redhawks scored 23 of their 64 points in the final quarter alone. This was important because the Vikings managed 20 points of their own over the final six minutes – after just 33 points in the first three quarters. Viewmont shot just 36% on the day, but the Redhawks were blistering hot from the field, making 25 of 44 shots. However, Bountiful struggled from the foul line, going just 10 of 19. Viewmont had a hard time with foul shots too, as the Vikings were only 9 of 17 from the line. 

Carson Smith led all scorers with 17 points, as the Bountiful star also had six rebounds and four assists. Sam Stevenson had 14 points and seven rebounds, while Danny Holland chipped in 10 points and three assists. For Viewmont, Zach Robison had 14 points, three rebounds and three assists. Scott Noel contributed 10 points and seven rebounds. The loss dropped Viewmont to 5-9 overall. 

On Wednesday, Viewmont played at Northridge. The Vikings host Bonneville on Friday. After Bountiful’s clash with Woods Cross on Wednesday, the Redhawks entertain Box Elder on Friday. 

Davis

A year after finishing as state runner-up in Class 6A, Davis has found the going to be a little tougher this season. The Darts were 6-5 in non-region play but have improved to 9-6 overall thanks to a 3-1 start in Region 1 contests. At our press time, Davis is in second place, a game behind Fremont. 

Davis went 2-0 last week to improve its fortunes, with one blowout and one down-to-the-wire close game. First was an 82-55 rout of Weber, followed by a 69-67 overtime victory over Syracuse on Jan. 13. Early on, the win over Syracuse looked like it wouldn’t happen. Davis was down 22-10 after one quarter and 36-21 at halftime. The Darts were down by as many as 20 points in the first half. 

The second half belonged to Davis. 

After cutting the lead to 51-38 at the end of the fourth quarter, Davis outscored Syracuse 18-5 in the fourth quarter to force overtime at 56-56. In the extra session, Davis outlasted the Titans thanks to a 13-11 run. Hot shooting from the field in the second half (65%) and clutch free-throw shooting in quarters two and three (88%) helped fuel the comeback win. 

Zach Fisher had 25 points and eight rebounds for Davis, which also got 23 points and five rebounds from Colby Whicker. 

Davis’ lone game this week is Friday at Clearfield. 

Farmington 

The Phoenix have had the opposite season so far that Davis has had. Farmington started off 8-2 in non-region play but have struggled to a 1-3 league start. 

Of course, it’s not as though Farmington is getting run out of the gym. The Phoenix have lost all three region games by fewer than eight points. Last week on Jan. 13, Farmington fell to 0-3 with a 59-57 loss at home to Layton. Farmington looked to have this one in hand early on, racing to a 37-26 halftime lead. But the Lancers charged back with a 33-20 advantage in the second half. Farmington lost despite making more shots from the field (20) than Layton (17). However, the Lancers made seven three-pointers to Farmington’s five. Also, Layton made six more free throws than the Phoenix. 

Paul Beattie had 17 points for Farmington, while Cole Johnson added 12 points. Ethan Atkinson had 11 points to round out the double-figure scorers for the Phoenix. 

Farmington notched its first region win of the season on Tuesday by dispatching Syracuse 64-59. This time, it was Jayden Haskell who led the way for Farmington by scoring 17 points. Beattie had 12, and Atkinson scored 11. Farmington plays at Weber on Friday.