Centennial clash: Atwater leads Davis over Layton 68-52 in Region 1 rumble
Darts hand Lancers first region loss
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- Davis senior Coleman Atwater (1) drives to the basket during a home game vs. Layton on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Kaysville.
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- Davis junior Tradon Bessinger (0) defends a shot by Layton senior Sam Romer (3) during a home game on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Kaysville.
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- Layton senior Sam Romer (3) looks for an open teammate during a road game vs. Davis on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Kaysville.
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- Davis junior JT Turley (11) looks around Layton senior Jonah Fullmer (5) during a home game on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Kaysville.
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- Layton senior Joshua Checketts (33) steps up to the free-throw line during a road game vs. Davis on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Kaysville.
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- Davis junior Tradon Bessinger (0) defends Layton sophomore Karter Miller (1) during a home game on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Kaysville.
KAYSVILLE — Davis boys basketball swung the pendulum, and swung it hard, to become the aggressor in their 100th all-time meeting with region favorite Layton at home on Tuesday night.
Led by senior Coleman Atwater’s 24 game-high points and six rebounds, the Darts handed their I-15 rivals their first region loss 68-52 after giving up a 23-point January defeat to the Lancers, who entered the night having won seven in a row.
This week at practice, Atwater prioritized the high emotions and disciplined ball movement following the Darts (17-3, 6-1 Region 1) into their rematch with the Lancers (16-4, 6-1) after letting a poor first half doom their chances last time around.
And move the ball Davis did, with junior JT Turley (13 points and two 3-pointers) and sophomore Bode Sparrow (10 points) generating much-needed offense throughout the night. Junior Tradon Bessinger added eight points and senior Bennett Wright added six.
“I don’t remember a team I’ve been on where I’ve had literally three or four guys I can trust to make the right shot,” Atwater said. “I need to trust those guys to be able to hit a shot and, in practice, we tell them ‘Hit the shot. When you’re open, you hit it.'”
A solid start didn’t last for the Lancers, losing steam in the second quarter before Davis embarked on a 49-point second half. Sophomore Karter Miller’s 21 points led the team; senior Joshua Checketts grabbed a characteristic, game-high 11 rebounds to his four points.
Layton set its pace with a 7-0 start and defensively stalled Davis, opening the night 0 for 3 from the field, into burning an early timeout. The Lancers’ shooting soon tapered off heading into the second quarter leading by just four.
Neither squad found a basket over the next two minutes until Bessinger did the honors from 3-point land, bringing the Darts within a possession.
Officials counted a creative and-one finish by Miller, who laid in the make with hardly any vision of the basket as he flew into the home crowd. The subsequent free throw and two more by junior Jack Godderidge at the stripe bumped the Lancers up six late in the half.
Cutting within a basket, Davis looked to Wright to bring down the clock for one last look but the senior’s lane-breaching jumper rolled out, leaving the Lancers up 21-19 at the break.
The Darts made a swift return to the floor, grabbing their first lead of the night via Turley at the outside corner. A putback jumper by Atwater put Davis up six and Layton struggled to shake that lead for the remainder of the third quarter.
Layton head coach Kelby Miller said the alarms went off when Davis started finding success up and down the roster. Eight different Darts penciled in field goals on Tuesday.
“They had guys step up for them,” Miller said. “(Atwater)’s going to do his thing but they had some guys hit shots that don’t normally hit shots so that was big for them. We just didn’t get that second or third guy to really contribute tonight like we normally do.”
Down eight to begin the fourth, Layton handed Davis two trips to the free-throw line and soon trailed by double digits. The Lancers closed the night shooting just 16 of 43 with 17 turnovers; Davis shot 24 of 51 with eight turnovers.
Davis hosts Syracuse (7 p.m.) on Friday; Layton welcomes Farmington (7 p.m.).
BOX SCORE
Layton 14 7 13 18 – 52
Davis 10 9 23 26 – 68
LHS (52): Miller 21, Romer 9, Fullmer 7, Randall 5, Godderidge 6, Checketts 4.
DHS (68): Atwater 24, Turley 13, Sparrow 10, Bessinger 8, Wright 6, Moala 4, Christensen 2, Couser 1.
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
