KAYSVILLE -- For the past few years, the roles have been reversed.
Davis was usually near the top of the region standings at this time of the season and Northridge would be playing out the string or jockeying for position in the upcoming state tournament.
Things changed last week when the Knights won their first league title in 10 years and Davis was now trying to lock up a third-place seed in the upcoming state 5-A playoffs.
Northridge better get used to having teams take their best shot against the leaders.
Fresh off clinching the Region 1 championship on Friday, the Knights rode into Kaysville and got dismounted by the Darts 59-42 on Tuesday evening.
"There was no difference in our preparation for the game; it was a region basketball game against a quality opponent," said Davis coach Jay Welk. "We had a higher seed at stake and the kids did a great job and defended well."
"We're in a position where teams are always up and ready to play us. There are no easy games; we have to make it about us and how we can get better," Welk said.
Davis (13-8, 6-4 league) broke out of an 8-8 first-quarter tie with a 14-0 run that lasted deep into the second stanza and outscored the Knights 23-10 in the period.
Northridge committed 12 turnovers in the first half and dug a 31-18 hole going into the locker room.
"We were a lot more aggressive on both ends of the floor and got a lot of breakaway baskets off of our defense," Welk added.
The Knights (13-8, 8-2) narrowed the gap to 45-39 with 4:59 left in the fourth quarter on a baskset inside by Karson Casteel, but Tyson Denney countered with a 3-pointer and the Darts closed it out on a 14-3 spurt to win going away.
"Tyson has the OK to shoot that when it's open and he has confidence because he's made over 50 3s this year," Welk said.
Sophomore point guard Abel Porter led the Darts with 18 points while Denney notched 10 points.
For Northridge, Preston Christensen scored 12 points, despite being saddled with foul trouble, and Casteel netted eight.
Davis shot 55.6 percent from the field, including 18-of-23 in the paint and held the Knights to 41.2 percent for the night and only 7-of-21 in the second half.
The Darts now have a two-game winning streak heading into the 5-A tournament next Tuesday at the Maverick Center and will match up against Region 3 No. 2 seed Alta in the 9:10 p.m. game.
"We need to continue to work to our potential. We have won some big games this year, including that one on the road against Fremont last week," Welk said.
"I'm proud of the kids as they keep working hard. We're excited for the tourament and feel good about how we're playing right now."
Northridge will play the 11:10 a.m. game, also on Tuesday, against the Region 3 No. 4 seed and hope to have starting center Joe Newkirk back from a concussion suffered two weeks ago.
* FREMONT 69, SYRACUSE 53: At Syracuse, the Titans kept things close early, but the Silver Wolves blew things open in the second quarter and ran away with the win, securing a share of third place in Region 1.
Brock Smith powered Fremont with a career-high 38 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Hayden Spencer also added nine points for the Silver Wolves.
Diante Mitchell scored a team-high 19 points and Brock Anderson chipped in 14 for the last-place Titans.
* WEBER 75, LAYTON 64: At Pleasant View, the Warriors jumped out to a 29-18 lead and did just enough down the stretch to hold on to the victory and second place in the Region 1 standings.
Hayden Schenck did the heavy lifting for Weber, pouring in 24 points. Justin Nielsen scored 22 and Jake Shaw added 15 in the win.
Region 6
* WOODS CROSS 50, CLEARFIELD 41: At Woods Cross, Hayden Grant and Brady Crowley paced the Wildcats with 12 and 10 points, respectively, and free throws made the difference. Woods Cross went 18-of-22 from the line, while the Falcons were 12-of-18.
Marquis Jones scored a game-high 14 points and Jayden Garcia added 11 for Clearfield, which finished 2-8 in Region 6 (3-17 overall).
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