With a co-region championship in hand, the Davis boys basketball team has its sights on a bigger prize. 

The Darts open the Class 6A state tournament this Friday in the second round at home against the winner of a first-round matchup between American Fork and Fremont on Feb. 19, after our press deadline. Davis, seeded second in the tournament behind Region 2’s Herriman, already has two victories over Fremont this season. Davis defeated the Silverwolves 69-51 on Jan. 10 and then again on Jan. 31 by a commanding 72-40 margin. A game against American Fork would be the first meeting of the season between the two schools. 

The Darts finished the regular season with a glossy 20-3 record. They were 9-1 in Region 1, tied with Layton, the only team Davis lost to in league play. Conversely, Davis was the only team to defeat Layton in Region 1, with the Darts prevailing 68-52 on Feb. 4. 

Securing the region title and No. 2 seed would not have been possible had the Darts not upended Weber in the regular-season finale on Feb. 14. Davis prevailed in the contest on the road by the count of 66-61. Davis trailed by one heading into the fourth quarter but outscored Weber 21-15 over the final six minutes. Coleman Atwater had yet another outstanding game, pouring in 23 points while adding five rebounds and four assists. Bode Sparrow contributed 13 points, while JT Turley and Tradon Bessinger each had 11 points. Bessinger also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds in the winning effort. 

If Davis wins its second-round game, it will advance to the quarterfinals on Feb. 24 to face the winner of No. 10 Copper Hills and No. 7 Westlake. That contest, along with the semifinals on Feb. 26 and the finals on Feb. 27 will be at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on the campus of the University of Utah. 

Last season, Davis reached the quarterfinals but lost to Herriman. 

Atwater has been a force all season for the Darts and is someone to watch in the playoffs. The senior is second in 6A and fourth in the state in scoring with an average of 21.8 points per game. He scored in double figures in every game during the regular season. On Dec. 21, in a game against out-of-state foe West Valley, Washington, he erupted for 45 points. Turley is averaging 12.6 points per game, and Sparrow heads into the playoffs averaging 9.4 points a contest. 

Farmington

The Phoenix enter the state tournament in a slump. 

Farmington has lost five games in a row and sport an overall mark of 6-16. The team was 2-8 in Region 1, finishing in fifth place. In the state playoffs, Farmington grabbed the 17th seed and faced 16th-seeded Riverton in round one. The game was held Feb. 19, after our press deadline. If Farmington defeated Riverton, it would have a tall order ahead of it: playing top-seeded Herriman on the road on Friday. 

Farmington lost its regular-season finale to Syracuse on Feb. 14, 52-48. It was 41-35 Farmington after three quarters, but the Phoenix couldn’t hold on. In a losing effort, Malakai Tobler led the way for Farmington with 13 points. Three players scored eight points for the Phoenix.