Davis basketball starts out season strong

Things looked really bright for the Davis High basketball teams a few games into the season. Through Dec. 9, neither team had lost and the boys and girls had combined to win eight games.

While the girls came back down to earth during the rest of the month, the boys continued to soar. Now the Davis boys team is ranked second in Class 5A and is the Region 1 favorite heading into league play. In fact, the Darts were the only team in their northern league with a winning record to begin the week. The girls have a tougher row to hoe, but they could play themselves into the thick of things.

BOYS: The Darts return three starters from the squad that made it to the 5A quarterfinals last season. And, so far, there's no reason to think they won't get at least that far this year.

Not only does Davis have a good amount of experience back — something that's been quite evident during its 8-1 preseason, including two overtime victories — but the Darts also welcomed back Brian Green. He was out last year with an injury.

Two underclassmen — juniors Nick Martineau and Brady Hurst — are leading Davis in scoring. Martineau, a football standout who plays guard, is averaging 12.6 points a game, while Hurst, a productive post player, is adding 12.2 points an outing.

Making Davis all the harder to defend, though, is that two other senior guards are chipping in with at least nine points a game — Brian Green averages 9.6 ppg and Stratton McCausland averages 9.0 ppg. Mike Florence (5.9 ppg), Alex Hill (4.3 ppg) and Nate Law (3.2 ppg) are other key contributors. They're helping Davis average more than 60 points a game, one of only seven 5A teams to do so.

The Darts have great guard play and are good down low as well, what with three regulars standing 6-4 or more: Law (6-4), Hurst (6-6) and Florence (6-6).

Davis' boys begin Region 1 competition tonight at home against Fremont. The Darts' tough preseason, which included a win and a loss against Alta as well as victories over Provo, Bingham and Cottonwood, should work to their favor as they head into league play.

GIRLS: The girls got off to a hot start, holding Woods Cross, Highland and Ben Lomond to 30 points or less while scoring at least 48 each contest. But it's been up and down for Davis since then, with more downs than ups. After winning their first three, the Darts have a pair of two-game losing streaks sandwiched by a pair of wins in which they held opponents to 30 and 33 points.