Davis' 5-A title run ends in disappointment

SLIDESHOW: 5-A prep boys basketball championship: Davis vs. Alta

OGDEN -- So many questions, so few answers.

What if?

* The Darts don't score just two first-quarter points on 1-of-9 shooting and fall behind 13-2.

* Alta doesn't shoot a blistering 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from 3-point range in the first half en route to a 23-14 halftime lead.

* Davis High doesn't miss a layup after getting a steal with seven minutes remaining, and the chance to trim what was a 17-point, second-quarter Hawks' advantage down to two points.

* The Darts don't go 1-of-13 from the floor -- 0-of-7 on 3-point attempts -- in an eight-point fourth quarter.

The Hawks opened the 2009-10 high school boys basketball season with a 59-52 non-league loss at Davis on Dec. 1. Alta closed the season Saturday with a decisive 46-32 victory over the Darts in Weber State University's Dee Events Center for its fourth state basketball championship since the school opened in 1978 and third state 5-A title.

"It just happens," senior center Tallon Burton said of Davis' season-low 18.6 percent shooting (8-of-43). "Shots that usually fall didn't, and that's how the game goes. We lost our opportunities with missed shots and mistakes.

"We knew what we needed to do to come back, and we didn't do it fully," he said. "We needed to play collectively better on both ends of the floor. They were up into us; they knew our strengths and worked to take them away."

Landon Horne and Burton, the Darts' top two scorers averaging 12.1 and 11.1 points per game, respectively, combined for just nine points -- all free throws -- on combined 0-of-15 shooting.

"It was a fun season and I wouldn't trade it for the world," said the 17-year-old Burton. "I wouldn't go into battle without any of my teammates."

Five-time defending Region 1 champion Davis finished the season at 22-3 overall -- having its season-best, 14-game winning streak snapped -- with the 22 wins matching the most single-season victories in coach Jay Welk's 20 years with the Darts.

"We didn't anticipate shooting this poorly," Welk said. "No question, we got great looks at the basket. Our biggest concern all season has been about defending. For the most part, we played pretty good defense, holding them to 41 percent (15-of-36).

"Today, we didn't have any offense and couldn't get any shots to drop," he said. "You expend a lot of energy coming back, and you do it on the defensive end. That can affect your shooting a little bit."

The Darts' Trever Webb scored a team-high 12 points, hitting 4-of-11 shots. Davis, which was making its first championship-game appearance since its 2002 5-A title season, got outrebounded 32-30 and committed 15 turnovers.

"We pretty well had their sets down; nothing we didn't expect," Welk said. "Their defensive pressure made a difference. They played straight man-to-man and extended it out to the passing lanes.

"I don't know if it's the arena or what it is," he said. "When perimeter shots aren't going down, you need to finish at the basket -- we got to the basket. Scoring is harder to come by in the semifinals and finals.

"Teams advance to those games because they're tougher defensively. Alta is the best defensive team we played this season; that's why they won it."

Southern Utah University-bound Kyle Davis, the No. 5 scorer in the state 5-A ranks at 17.7 ppg, had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Region 4 champion Hawks (21-4), who won their last 10 games.

"You spend so much time together and work together; it's kind of sad to see it end," Welk said. "It's hard to see the (seven) seniors go. Our whole team did a great job, and you couldn't ask for more from our seniors.

"I felt like our strategy was sound," he said. "If I could change anything, I wouldn't let them get out to a 17-point lead but I don't know how I would do that. It's the character of these kids. Even down 17 points, I knew they would come and compete and make a run."